


Counting the Differences

by Rynn



Category: Gokusen - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, OC, Season/Series 01, gaijin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-06 18:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 68,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rynn/pseuds/Rynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Davina, a genteel ballerina, owes a favor to 3D's unapologetic leader. Her compensation? English lessons for 3D to pass their English midterm! Life goes on and life as a gaijin in Japan is confusing most days. Throw in some yakuza, overbearing army parents, 3C thugs, 3D rowdiness and life becomes even more unpredictable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meeting

Counting the Differences  
  
Chapter One: First Meeting

* * *

"Plié ... **Suturetto**!" The new Madame called as she walked along the barre, analyzing the movement and grace of seven ballerinas.

Davina smiled as her knees straightened and her arm gently glided up, leveling with the barre. This was her fourth lesson in a prestigious Japanese ballet dance studio and she had enrolled before her body even adjusted to the time difference. Despite the rush, her new instructor was growing on her quicker than most of her previous teachers. _Suturetto, ha!_

Her new Madame was a sophisticated woman, lean and elegant, her silky hair always in a perfect bun. Her qualifications included an international troupe and while touring she had learned English and French. She had allowed Davina to join her class after an audition, but was more than willing to bring to her class a western student, perhaps to show her ballerinas a glimpse of what their future troupes would hold.

While Madame briefly directed her attention to a particular group, Davina's eyes drifted to the window view of the Tokyo metropolis to her side. She was in a high rise building—was there any other type in this country?—she could see other high-rise structures, lights of many vibrant colors, hoards of business men in black blazers, rushing toward the train station like schools of fish. Her studio was small for being so prestigeous yet suitable with the wall of mirrors, barre, and glowing hard wooden floor. The lack of harsh fluorescent lighting calmed Davina. She appreciated how the yellowing lights overhead gleamed warmly over the ballerinas.

She continued her repetitions to the soft music, glancing at the six other girls in leotards, counting to themselves over their breaths. All of them were black-haired, tiny, dark-eyed, and undoubtedly Japanese. Third lesson in, they had gotten used her to presence and had almost fully stopped boring their eyes into her western body. "Gaijin," they all had tilted and whispered to each other when she first arrived. She was 1/8 Japanese, from her father's side, but a gaikokujin _foreigner_ in all respects. 1/8 Japanese, ½ French, some British, Irish, Italian, one-hundred percent American born mutt.

As an army brat, Davina was dragged all around the United States and world with her father and mother. Her parents did something with security, communications, language, etc, the jobs changed depending upon location.

The move to Japan was a surprise when Davina was told after she had returned from her ballet practice on some insignificant Tuesday. Surprise in the most extreme definition of the word. Her parents had been so calm about the whole damn thing, overestimating their daughter's indifference.

Davina used to disregard posing for information from her parents before every move, "I don't care where we go, as long as they have ballet." After being transferred to the other side of the planet, starting over in an unfamiliar place _yet again_ ; she now found herself eating her words.

She didn't bother to protest the move far east. By the time she was informed about any relocation, everything was usually already set in stone with the military, school, jobs, residence, etc. As always, she was the last one to know anything, as if the information had slipped her parent's minds.

When she finally gathered her courage, Davina inquired about the move to her father one night as she sat on the stairs and he drunk a steaming cup of tea.

"It's either Tokyo or the base in Okinawa, they'll let us know in a couple of weeks." Her father uttered while he scanned through his Japanese intensive course book. "Oh, you're taking an intensive Japanese course, for a few months, before we leave."

Davina crossed her arms over her knees, unhappy with matter-of-fact tone her father used with her. She was his daughter after all, he could bother to show some concern. "But won't I be attending a foreigner's school anyway? Where rich guppy ambassadors send their rich guppy kids?"

Her father looked up from his course book and frowned directly at Davina with serious eyes, worthy of an army man. Immediately her pout flattened. "Yes, but the course is for your benefit. You'll need it, regardless of guppies. And get rid of that snappy attitude of yours Davina."

"Hmmm, yes, sir." Davina groaned. Expecting no more information, she swung around to climb the stairs back to her room.

"It's pretty lucky," her father began, stopping Davina in mid-step. Davina rolled at her eyes at the wall. _Here he goes again: "You're so lucky! To be so culturally stimulated! I got my very first passport at 22, when I joined the army!"_

"You'll get to see your great grandfather from my side. He's so happy that we're finally moving to his side of the world."

Ah yes, _Sou-so_ _fu._ Her father had rarely mentioned him. The great grandfather she had never met in her life. Twice, she had heard his voice over the phone and heard his name many times from her great grandmother. Her _Sofu's_ ex-wife, her great grandmother, lived in the states. She was American, so Davina didn't call her _Sobo_ or _Obaachan._ Her great grandmother had loved her Japanese husband but didn't love Japan.

"It was so hard back then, after the war," the woman who smelled of flowers said once to Davina, brushing light hair away from her brow while she reminisced deeply on her memories. "I imagine...or at least, I hope it is easier now for foreigners."

"Samunsu-san, keep your hands and feet at the same position while doing your chaines," instructed Madame, bringing Davina back into reality. Davina let out a small gasp and blinked. She had been spotting the window while she spun. Deep in thought, her focus scattered and had allowed her arms to droop slightly.

"Pardon—sumimasen." Davina fixed her posture, fixing her vision to the mirror to ignore the other girls' smirks.

Davina was surprised with how much she was in shock since arriving in Japan. Even ballet couldn't fully soothe it for her. She would remember her surroundings and feel ill in her gut while too many insecurities in her head kept agitating her and thus hindered her performance in front of her Madame and the new group of girls. She didn't want to appear mediocre in her jumps in front of the Japanese when she had aced them back home.

Home? Home was always such a vague term for Davina. Home was America, all around Europe, Middle East and Africa and now home was Japan. Home was all mushed between the chain-linked gates of a military base. With another glance to the girls next to her, her Madame, and the view outside, Davina felt her stomach tumble and tightened her chest to hold back the urge to cry.

The class ended soon after their short practice with their jumps. Davina watched as the other girls huddled together in their corner with their cute little bags and circled around Madame, talking in fast Japanese. Davina quickly removed her Pointe shoes and toe padding, and tossed them into her bag. She hurried towards the locker room to change into her street clothes, letting the door shut with a heavy dud.

Securing her final item of clothing, Davian walked by the mirror and stared back at her reflection for a moment. She ruffled with her coat collar, trying to make it stand up to cover her obviously non-Japanese features. She eventually grew frustrated and gave up, _you'll get stared at regardless._ Again, she fought the urge to cry, eventually sighed heavily to draw strength from within and threw her hat over her hair.

* * *

Davina stepped from the crowded platform onto the train, ignoring people's gaping stares at her. She had managed to get a seat, but there for some reason was always a space between her and the other passengers.

She removed her duffel from her shoulder to the seat next to her, pulled out her mp3 player from a zipper pocket. Unwrapping the wire from her headphones, a familiar-styled laugh resonated from the end of the train. She leaned slightly in her seat then spotted other _gaijin_ on the train. There was a fairly large group of them this time, weighed down with backpacks and plastic bags of souvenirs. The _gaijin_ she saw were always with groups of friends, grinning toothy smiles at each other and rowdily chatting away about their adventures in a homogeneous country. Her insides ached from jealously.

Davina had lived in many metropolises in the world—New York City, London, Paris—but Tokyo was far, far different. She had always seen large cities as hubs of diversity, Tokyo and Japan were far from that. Upon driving to the base, out the window, all she could see were heads of black hair and pale skin and only very few otherwise.

She had before enjoyed her physical features, but now, because of them, she hated walking on the streets of Tokyo. Davina hated the way people gawked at her long red hair. Not orange or auburn, but fire-engine red hair. She could understand silent admiration but the stopping and pointing amongst friends was more than what she could handle. She had received many valuing compliments but her stomach grew sick when drunk businessmen gave her perverted winks and comments on the walk home in Roppongi. At night now, she resorted to tucking her hair into a hat, for her own peace of mind. Now, she just avoided the Roppongi intersection, right outside the respective train station. The army base was closer to the Roppongi station than Minato, but Davina would rather walk the extra way than go through there. Otherwise the strip club and bar owners would yell, taunt, and sometimes follow her, "come and join the party sweet little girl!"

Also, her body was taller than most Japanese woman. She had a large collection of beautiful high heeled shoes that was gathering dust in her room because she was awkward as the typical giant westerner.

Her eyes were green, semi-rare in the west, diamond in the rough in Japan. She unconsciously held her head down in public, tired of people fussing over her eyecolor.

The train's announcer yelled "Minato! Minato!" over the intercom, while the screens over the doors switched between "港区," and "Minato." Davina adjusted her hat, weaved her arm into her strap, then waited for the doors to open before she hurried out.

Minato and Roppongi was bustling and busy. Noisy with people's loud laughter and loud car screeching and horns. Home was the army base, which was a long way away. People loved this area for the action and nightlife. All Davina wished was to entirely skip this area and go home.

She crossed her arms and ducked her head as she entered the crowds, trying to make herself as small as possible while keeping her bag tight against her side. She walked behind groups of girls across an intersection, occasionally looking up to see the colorful signs of the clubs she was passing.

Davina had never been clubbing in Japan, but by now she had learned which ones were popular, especially for foreigners. She knew through the girls in her class who were class pets in class but regulars at these vulgar clubs and bars. They would get dropped off by their drivers in the morning, hair styled and dressed impeccably, then gather together in a circle and giggle to themselves while going over in detail what happened the night before. They would then make plans for that night, discuss club clothing. Sometimes they just danced and drank, other times they were paid to bring in men who would dance and drink.

They would flip their highlighted hair over their shoulders and sometimes sneer over at Davina as if though they were sure she was missing out.

While reading the romanji over a sign, Davina accidentally caught of the eyes of a club bouncer who was scanning the crowd for customers. He nudged a fellow club goer next to him and directed the fellow's attention to Davina. Her breathing tensed as she sharply turned away, hoping he would ignore her but out of the corner of her eye she spotted him jogging behind. She cursed trying to hurry away and disappear into another crowd.

"You! Hold on, now! Wait, I wanna talk to you!" Why were they yelling in English?

Davina didn't dare look back. _No, go away!_ She could feel him advancing towards her faster than she could flee. Her heart pounded in her ribcage, her legs becoming jittery through nerves.

Someone called after her again, this time a different voice. "Isn't she the one who ran up my bar tab to over ¥50,000! I swear that's her!"

_No, no, no, no! Just go away!_ Davina looked around for a mark of something familiar in the buildings she passed, but in her haste, she had rushed away from what she could recognize and was still pushing further and further away. She realized now that she was running aimlessly. There were no crowds at this point. She turned, but faced a gate and behind it was the ocean and far away, glimmered lights of Rainbow bridge and Odaiba island.

Strong hands grabbed her arm and threw her like a doll to the concrete. She yelped as she hit her head. Her mp3 player flew from her pocket and skipped across the road. Her hat fell and scattered her hair in clumps over her face and over the road.

The daunting figures stood darkly over her. She couldn't see their faces clearly but both men had black hair and one had dark skin. "No way that's her, she was blonde and her friend was brunette."

They spoke to each other in Japanese while Davina set a shaky hand to the tender spot on her head. No blood, only pain. She winced.

One of their shoes tugged at her sweater, touching the tip to her school badge. "But she goes to the same school." The darker one smiled.

The paler one grabbed her bag and threw everything—her clothes, ballet shoes—until he found her wallet, but he threw it when he found only small bills. "Only ¥5,000 yen, thought only rich girls attended that high school."

_Please, just go, leave._

They spoke seriously to each other again, hands flimsily waved with gestures. "What do we do with her? She'd report us and her parents are probably important and will draw a lot of attention to this."

_I promise I won't tell, just go._ The sounds of the ocean pounded against the concrete shore below the gate. "Toss her into the ocean and see if she floats." The paler one said as he grabbed her at the waist.

As soon as his hands touched her, Davina screamed hysterically, "NO, NO, NO, NO!" She continued to shriek as the man lifted her light body from the road. She struggled against his grip and dug her nails deep into his skin like cat. She'd surely drown, she didn't know how to swim. Even if she could swim, the water would paralyze her limbs with cold. Hot tears rushed down her cheeks as her eyes widened over the dark water and her screams grew faint from terror. 

Just as black ocean waves become the only thing below her, Davina and the man were tackled to the left. The man let go and Davina scraped her thigh and arm against the road. She lifted herself warily and cradled her arm. A third tall figure pushed and punched the man back, shouting furiously. After two hits both men retreated, their shadows growing larger against the buildings as their bodies disappeared around the corner.

Davina exhaled deeply, the alarm within her chest tranquilizing. She minded her thigh and arm then carefully stood from the ground, supporting herself from her uninjured side. Her limbs ached and her head throbbed. She rubbed the scratches on her cheek and smoothed away her tears. Her rescuer finally turned to her then bent his knees to help gather her things back into her bag.

Then out of nowhere he started screaming at her in rapid Japanese, his tone almost as brutal as the two men.

Davina quivered reactively, hot tears filling her eyes again. The man, err—boy was he? Davina got a closer look, even in the pale light, he was definitely close to her age. Judging by the black blazer and black pants, he was still a high school student. His shaggy hair fluttered as he yelled, leaving a few blond streaks just visible under his hair.

Her hands cupped her face, tears steamed in between her fingers and the boy's shouting halted. He stared, jaw slightly hanging, at her hands and her features for a moment then gave the notorious "oh-shit, she's Caucasian, must not understand Japanese" look and then sighed. The whites in his eyes receded under droopy eyelids and his expression calmed to that of a poker face. He seemed sorry to have yelled at her.

"Where is your hotel?" He asked slowly and softly in English, handing Davina her ballet slippers, trying to reassure her that he wouldn't raise his voice again.

He was obviously not a native speaker, Davina noted. His English was accented, but his intentions to put her at ease were enough for Davina.

Lifting her bag to her shoulder, she pointed a finger to the ground. "Koko...Nihon ni...sundeimasu." _I live here in Japan._

"Eh? Ie wa doko?" He said. _Where is your house?_

Davina twisted behind to the ocean scenery then left and right, eventually shaking her head. Trying to remember the key phrases she learned, shrugging, she said, "maigo desu." _I'm lost._

The boy shoved his hands into his pockets with a deep scuff of air, obviously annoyed. Davina felt uncomfortable and embarrassed for being a burden to this person who put himself in harm's way to help her, but she felt scared to find her way back alone, especially knowing that those two scoundrels were still out there.

She didn't know how to react in a situation like this, and from the looks of it, neither did he. She bowed from the waist down, wishing her gesture would hold full connotation of what she was trying to express. "Gomennansai." Her voice barely audible in between her trembles.

The boy grew sympathetic as the girl's red hair curtained around her head when she bowed. He eyed her face as she lifted her neck while her body was still forward and her cheeks were sulked in and her eyes puffy red. He sighed to himself, knowing he was now responsible to continue helping her get home because he had saved her.

Suddenly, his phone rang in his pocket. They both drew in a breath of air and the trance between them broke. The boy pulled the antenna of his phone and turned away while Davina straightened up. Her fingertips brushed along her cheekbones. Her cheeks were hot indicating she had been blushing. _Gather yourself and stop crying, Davina. You're stronger than this emotional wreckage. You've caused enough trouble._ She continued to internally drill herself, while finishing retrieving her belongings.

" _Hi Minami,"_ The boy said into his phone receiver. " _No, something has come up, I'm not coming._ " With a flick of his thumb the conversation ended, even though the speaker on the other end whined and demanded more explanation.

The boy twisted back at Davina who was dusting the mud and dry dirt off her hat. She flipped the rim with her wrist, accessing the damage before finally shoving it into one of her bag's zipper pockets. She checked her mp3 player, which, thankfully, still worked. Lastly, she adjusted her bag strap securely over her shoulder.

She was still a bit shaky and timid, not that he blamed her. He swayed towards her, setting his phone back into his pocket. "Iko." _Let's go._

Davina bit her lip and gave a slight nod.

He allowed her to be one step ahead of him. He decided to himself that he'd wait until she'd stopped shaking, then he'd take her home.


	2. The Pact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Yeah, you know the drill...I only own Davina.

Shin smelled the familiar scent of boiled noodles as he and Davina leaned the colorful curtains aside and stepped into the Ramen-ya. He ordered for them each some tea and a bowl of ramen. He led them to the bar and rested himself in a center seat.

Davina slowly left her bag strap fall from her shoulder and moved it under her tall chair. Their tea arrived promptly and the young man poured an even portion into both cups. She scooted her chair forward then gripped the cup with both hands and brought the steaming cup to her lips. Her torso felt instantly better as she swallowed the hot tea with closed eyes. Her aching body felt collected, sitting in the tall chair next to her rescuer. She hadn't asked where they were going nor had he mentioned where he was taking her. She simply trusted her instincts that told her that she no longer needed to be afraid. She let out a deep relaxed breath then set the cup down.

Shin was satisfied in that she was enjoying her tea. The pale look of fright on her face and the random quivers that shook her as they walked to the Ramen-ya were diminishing. Shin touched his lips to the cup and drank, the guilt from yelling at her finally quietening.

Davina picked at her nails, listening to the sounds of soft chatter and the sizzling from the kitchen. She didn't want to seem rude but she knew her rudimentary Japanese couldn't do justice for the immense gratitude that she felt.

She felt the solid wood of the bar underneath her palms. The young man had already finished his tea and was pouring himself another cup. His hand reached over, took hers, his rings clicked against the ceramic container and topped off her cup.

Davina scratched the back of her neck, so unsure of how to express her thankfulness. "Arigatou gozaimasu."

He shoved her cup, the bottom scraped on the wooden top and set the cup next to her hand. She finally tilted her head up and saw him in the light for the first time. He rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, elbows balanced on the bar. He looked down at her with an expression of calm introversion. Was he sleepy, bored, or just calm? Davina couldn't attach that cool face to the body who had fought off her attackers.

Their ramen arrived in two decorated bowls. The boy to her left broke apart his chopsticks, dunk them into his bowl and slurped the noodles, his chopsticks following the noodles, bringing each bite to his teeth. Davina tore apart her chopsticks and slurped noodles into her mouth, her stomach rumbled hungrily when she swallowed. Her mouth dried and her stomach growled again, causing her throat to tighten. She eagerly vacuumed up more noodles down her throat, easing the hunger inside.

Hearing the animated and hearty slurps to the right of him, he hadn't expected her to enjoy the ramen so dearly. "Amerikanjin desu ka?" _Are you American?_ The boy next to her muttered, not looking at her.

"Hmmm?" Davina's cheeks squeezed in mid-slurp. Ah yes, the "are you American?" question. She got this a lot where ever she went, especially when she spoke, revealing her 'American accent.' The problem was, the question, no matter how simple it sounded, had a complex answer. Well, technically, the answer was yes. She had an American passport, was an American citizen by birth, but had spent half her life surrounded by troops and ambassadors on US _soil_ , thousands of miles away from America... But they didn't teach her how to say all of that in her Japanese courses. "Yes, I am American."

"Ehn." Shin mumbled to himself. He had seen American and other foreign teenagers around Tokyo. Some in uniforms, others in regular clothes, pattering away in dozens of foreign languages. Their features varying from the palest Caucasian, to medium Asian, to the darkest of African. Their parents were usually ambassadors, business people, government workers, foreign leaders, etc. He was sure the girl next to him was grouped into that category.

There was more silence between them, yet the background was active with more noises from the kitchen and other costumers. Davina formulated her next question in her head, trying to be grammatically correct and clear. "Anata wa—ehh, anata no...namae wa...nan desu ka?" _What's your name?_ She asked, slowly, nodding her head in between pauses.

"Sawada, Shin." The boy said after finishing his bite of noodles, beholding the sight straight ahead.

_Sawada, Shin, Shin Sawada._ Davina practiced in her head. The young man who had saved her was Shin Sawada.

"Shin." Davina said then focused back on her ramen, unaware that Shin had turned his vision to her.

He had been hanging around between Minato and Roppongi that evening. He was supposed to meet up with his friends Kuma, Uchi, Noda, and Minami in a neighboring district, but he noticed the girl ducking her head, a perfect target for the gangsters who hunted the area for easy prey like her. His impulses kicked in when the club goers were chasing her. He shoved through the crowds and ran until he found her, right before she was almost thrown into the icy water. He had nearly lost them behind the urban structures, but then her screams echoed with the waves of the ocean, " _NO, NO, NO, NO!_ "

Shin watched her pick at her food with the chopsticks, eating the noodles with genuine pleasure. After he had saved her, he was glad that her attackers were cowards who were beaten by a few shoves and punches. He was furious at the unidentified men for preying on the young lady but he was angry with the stranger next to him for being so timid. Before he saw her Caucasian features, he had yelled at her. " _You idiot! Walk with authority! Don't you know how easy you made yourself look?!_ " But then her red hair fell back onto her shoulders and her teary green eyes pierced back into his brown set. His harsh words were for her benefit but the tears that seeped down her arms as she held her face told him that she didn't understand his words or his intentions. At that moment, he had scared her and was no different than her attackers. The pangs within were reassured by a quick glance to his right. She looked comfortable enough and didn't seem rushing to get away from him. Shin was nothing like those trashy men.

The young lady tucked her tresses behind the folds of her ears, still unaware of the young man's attention.

Shin bet that he could count the number of _natural_ redheads he had ever seen on one hand. Her hair looked so alien to him, yet he didn't doubt that the color came from her own scalp. He suddenly didn't blame her for trying to hide in the crowds. Positive or not, he imagined she got a lot of attention for her differing features. They would have hunted after her regardless. Areas like that were popular with foreigners and sometimes they were the reasons why it was dangerous. She must have known that, but then, why was she in Roppongi?

"What's your name?" He asked, taking another bite.

She blinked. "Hmmm? My name? Davina, Davina Summons."

"Da-bi-eh... Da-vi-na Sa-min-su." Shin stuttered.

Davina couldn't help but smile. There was no true 'v' equivalent in Japanese so most trying to say her name just gave up and resorted to calling her "Da-bi-na." She wouldn't correct anyone, but the mispronunciation irked her, making her feel even more foreign.

"Da-vi-na, Sa-min-su-san." Shin attempted again, correctly.

"Shin. Shin Sawada." Davina said again, reaching for the last few bites of noodles left in her bowl.

Shin was internally amused by Davina's confusion with Japanese language and etiquette. When she spoke to him in Japanese, she used polite form, but she used his first name, a custom usually reserved for close friends. He didn't care enough to correct her.

Under them beeped a rhythmic tone. "Oh...my phone." Davina placed her feet the the tiled floor and grabbed her bag from underneath her chair. She unzipped a pocket and removed her cellphone, which glowed several colors along the edge while chirping a generic ring tone. She flipped open her phone with a click and read the caller ID. She raised an eyebrow. "My parents." She muttered to Shin, tucking her hair behind her ear to listen to the speaker. "I'm surprised, they usually don't get back so early."

She honestly didn't expect him to understand fully what she had said, so that's why she left his "ehh?" hanging without an answer. She waved around the curtain hanging at the front entrance and began talking to her mother in English.

Shin paired his chopsticks and set them on top of his bowl. His shoulders felt tense so he intertwined his fingers and stretched with a tired sigh. Tilted in his chair, it was the first time he had noticed how many people were staring, not just at Davina, but the two of them. Throughout the tiny restaurant, people made consistent glances, however curious, at Davina and Shin. He figured it was Davina's hair color or maybe the fact she with a Japanese native instead of a group of loud foreigners that attracted their interest.

He twisted his neck back at Davina behind the curtain signs, eyed her up and down, much to her lack of awareness, heavily engaged in her phone conversation. Her lips fluttering fast words into the receiver, completely different from the timid little girl he had been with for the past hour or so.

Another factor he hadn't noticed before were Davina's clothes. He hunched over his finished bowl, but noted the details of Davina's outlook. He could bet by her composure and sweater that she attended a rich foreigner's school. And what about those ballet shoes? He couldn't imagine that ballet was cheap. Her nails were manicured. Her arms, ears, and fingers were decorated with expensive jewelry. Her shoes, at least according to his initial glance, looked expensive. Regardless of how much her upkeep actually was, to him and to all the others in the restaurant and in the street, she was a high maintenance girl. And she was out, eating cheap ramen, with a punk.

Davina entered from under the curtain, shut the phone in her hand then tucked it back into the zipper pocket. Shin wondered if Davina's fast words were about the attack. Or if she had told her parents already, he hoped she had kept quiet about his involvement. His English was good, but they didn't teach you in school how to ask someone to keep a secret.

Davina tried compensate Shin for her share of the meals with what she was able to recover from her wallet and what her attackers hadn't stolen, but Shin wouldn't have any of it. "It's nothing."

She eventually gave up and put away her leather wallet, which, by the way, Shin thought, looked expensive. It didn't manner to him. After she went home the relation between them would end.

"Your parents," Shin began, Davina held her chin up, "are coming?"

Davin's lips thinned. "No. They are not."

Shin shoved his fists into his blazer pockets while Davina adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder, fixing the buttoning on her sweater and tucked away stray hairs so they wouldn't get tugged.

"Wakatta." Shin said curtly. _Understood._

They caught each others' eyes as if they were exchanging thoughts, because at that moment they both felt such mutual clarity that neither Shin or Davina could doubt that they understood each other for that second.

No, her parents couldn't have known. If they did, someone would have come for her and Shin would be alone again. Davina had her own concerns that kept her from telling her parents, and Shin had his desire for his act of kindness to be left uncelebrated.

They continued strolling down the street, occasionally making sly glances at each other without the others detection.

Shin swayed as his walked, Davina noticed. Very casual, easy going, quiet...not a single word from his mouth was wasted. She wondered about his blank expression and hoped he wasn't annoyed with her and wishing to get rid of her as soon as possible.

Davina's chin hit her chest, starring at her shoes, trying not to look over to her left at Shin again.

She was certain that Shin had compassion, otherwise he would have abandoned her in Minato, injured and in tears. When Shin saw her upset, he had stopped yelling at her, but what if that had only been because she couldn't understand Japanese? No, he had enough goodness within him to come and help. The area where she was being chased was busy and crowded, and yet he was the only one among all those people who came to her aid. She decided, allowing herself one last glance...this black pants and white shirt-wearing, shaggy haired young man was a nice guy.

" _What_?" He caught her staring at him, causing her head to jerk away, trying to make it seem as though she had been sightseeing the shops next to her the whole time. Her cheeks grew hot again.

"I live in Hardy Barracks." The words spewed out like vomit. "The base, north of Roppongi."

"Hmm?" Shin eyebrows twitched. "Haadi Barakusu?" The U.S. army base?

"Hardy Barracks, by Hardrock cafe...Fuji Xerox..." Davina listed, trying to draw a sort of reaction from Shin, starting to question if even he knew where to go. When his expression didn't change, she said, "damn it, what was it called..." Her fingers snapped, "umm...Donki?"

His poker face didn't budge. Davina didn't know what to do at this point. They had both managed to stop walking in unison. Davina put a hand to her hip, another to her chin, turning to see if she could recognize any of the shops, structures, _anything._ She heaved a frustrated sigh, reaching to get her phone.

Shin merely blinked, scoping the names of the stores and business around. Unbeknown to Davina, he was already calculating their route to their destination.

Her thumb flicked the phone and rubbed across the dial keys. She contemplated calling her parents, but didn't want to call her mother and admit that 'yes, she had been lying and was lost instead of not being far away' like what she had originally told her.

"Aami burato, da ne?" _An army brat, huh?_ Shin muttered under his breath, catching Davina completely off guard.

The back of her neck chilled. " _What_ did you say?" Davina crossed her arms, tapping her foot. She was sure she had heard "army brat," but was still willing to give him the benefit of doubt.

And just then, she saw it. So slight she could have possibly only imagined it, but the corner of Shin's mouth tweaked into a curve. As quick as his smirk appeared, his lips flattened back to his usual blank expression.

Shin never answered. He merely sighed and continued up the road. Davina stood in his spot momentarily, arms still crossed. Just as she had left his question hanging back in the ramen joint, he was doing the exact something thing to her now. He still seemed like a nice guy, but something was a bit off...

Shin paused at the intersection, waiting for the light to let pedestrians cross. "You coming?" He cued, his back facing her.

Off or not, Davina decided she'd follow. After all, he never did say he didn't know where he was going, right? She had no reason not to trust him.

* * *

Davina was graceful as she walked, Shin noted. He had also noticed before in the restaurant how she _never_ slouched, her back always perfectly straight. Her body simply flowed, not a single movement went unaccounted for. He recalled the ballet shoes he had handed back to her and figured her grace was in part due to her ballet.

Shin had caught her peering at him a couple of times. " _What?_ " He had snapped, causing her turn the other direction, blushing, acting as though she hasn't been glancing at him. He was no mind reader, but he could see she had words on the tip of her tongue that for some reason, probably the language barrier, she couldn't express. Her lips would part, but she would give up and simper to herself.

She ducked her head a lot too, especially when passersby would bump their friends, directing their attention to her, whispering. She wasn't fluent in Japanese, but even she could tell that they were talking about her. She would merely cross her arms, pull her bag closer, lower her head, and stare at her shoes. Her discomfort was obvious and slightly painful to watch.

Shin thought of sparking up conversation for the sake of reminding her of his presence so she would stop cowering to herself. He ultimately decided against it. His English wasn't good enough and her Japanese probably wasn't either. What he was taught in class was only valuable enough to get him good marks. "The dog is not green. This is a pen." Not, "stand with authority even if you're scared, so goons like those two don't come near you."

"Kowai da...sometimes." _It's scary sometimes._ The wind had picked up in speed so she tightened her sweater around her waist.

"Are you...scared now?" Shin asked, his face tilted down at Davina.

Davina shook her head. "No." She said sincerely, her expression soft.

Their eyes looked into the each others for what seemed a long time until they both blinked away. It was silent between them for the rest of the way to Hardy Barracks.

* * *

The guards at the front gates gave Shin dirty glares.

Davina hadn't noticed, too busy producing her ID when the guard demanded her military identification. He inspected her card, compared her face to the photo then his white gloved hand gave the card back to her. "You may go through Ms. Summons."

She put away her card, then stepped back from the guards. "Shin, if you—"

"Daijoubu. I need to go home." _I'm alright._

Davina felt it again, the overwhelming gratefulness that burned so deeply to be expressed that she couldn't bare it. She bowed once more. "Arigatou gozaimashita."

A heavy hand tapped the top of her head. "It's...all...right." Shin said. He replaced his hand into his blazer pocket. He turned around and started to walk away.

The anxiousness in her gut didn't waiver. She still owed him. "Shin!" Her voice resonated down the street towards him.

He twisted around and saw her running after him a couple of steps behind. "Your phone!"

_Phone?_ Shin reached into his pocket for his cell, and she immediately pried it from his fingers. She activated the menu, clicked keys until her breathing calm and she handed it back to him.

Shin pressed the dial on his phone and noticed a new number ID reading "Davina Summons."

"Just in case...you ever need anything, _anything_. Give me a call." Davina wrapped her arms around her as the wind picked up again.

His reaction was minimal. She worried he would just delete her number and leave. However, he just put his phone into his back pocket then began walking away. She hadn't used his phone to call hers so she didn't have his number. The ball was in his court now, whether or not he ever did actually call. Due to his reaction, or lack of rather, she doubted he would ever call her for help. She could bet that whatever he could possibly need help for he imagined his impression of her was that she was too fragile to lend a helping hand.

Shin never glimpsed back at Davina as he strolled away from the army base. She eventually dropped her arms from her waist and turned around for home deciding she would never see Shin again. And she didn't quite know how she felt about that.

* * *

Shin didn't glimpse back because he was already sure that he would never meet Davina again. As he headed towards his apartment, he looked at Davina's ID and number in his phone. He'd surely never use it, the gesture of offering her number, he was sure, was to ease the guilt she felt for being a burden to him.

Opening the door of his suite, her number was still lite in his phone. He couldn't bring himself to delete it and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

* * *

The next morning, Shin climbed the backstairs into class, tardy as usual, barely acknowledging 3-D's new teacher. A piece of paper and chalk in her hand, the opening door caught her attention. "Sawada, don't be late!"

Shin sat in his desk, zoned Yankumi's voice out, and addressed his friends with a slight nod.

"That new teacher really pisses me off." Noda muttered.

"Shin," Uchi began, Shin merely blinked, "what happened last night?"

"Eh?" Shin voiced.

"Last night?" Minami slouched in his chair.

"I went abroad, to US soil." He stated simply.

"What?" Kuma uttered, eyes squinted.

"Huh?" Shin's mouth hung open.

Uchi, Noda, Kuma, and Minami all leaned in, expecting an explanation.

"It's nothing." Shin said then yawned.

The four boys sighed, resigning their urge to ask anymore questions.

"Agh, Shin never tells us anything!" Kuma groaned.

Shin glanced among his four friends, realizing their slight irritation and dissatisfaction. He technically hadn't lied to them. He just wasn't about to give the full female details of who had occupied his night. Davina's trusting face flashed in his mind, their conversation replaying in his head.

_"Kowai da...sometimes."_

_"Are you...scared now?"_

_"No."_

Shin remembered Davina's number in his phone, still saved. Her willingness to trust him so soon and eagerness to repay him was strange to him. He'd delete her number and name eventually, at that moment all he wanted was a nap.

Last night was nothing. Last night couldn't be more than nothing.

* * *


	3. The Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set in Gokusen Jdrama episode 4...
> 
> Several weeks after Shin and Davina meet, Fujiyama's job is threatened and 3-D needs to earn 30 points on their English exam. Shin decides to take Davina up on her favor...

Counting the Differences

Chapter Three

* * *

_The Morning After Shin and Davina's meeting..._

Davina's mother had asked about the scratches on her arms and cheeks.

" _The ground." The words flew from her mouth with ease._

_Her mother didn't doubt her simple explanation. "Shouldn't ballerinas have more balance than that?!"_

_Davina smiled back. She hadn't lied._

* * *

_Several Weeks later..._

Davina fumbled with her locker combination and opened her locker to put away her math textbook. Overwhelmed with sleepiness, she tried to rub the dryness from her eyes, but the loud yawn she exhaled further punished her for doing her ballet repetitions late into the night, instead of sleeping. Luckily, the day was half over, and after class, all she would need to do was buy some new pointe shoes.

A short thin girl headed the down hall towards Davina with a sympathetic smile on her face. Her hair hung in waves just on her shoulders. Davina admired her outfit composed of a ruffled short-sleeved, black collared, gray mini dress with long dark tights with high top boots. "Dressed cute as always Mira," Davina smiled at her shorter friend, who grinned and gave a curtsy.

"Thank you, Davina. Oh, by the way, have you had your meeting with your counselor yet?" Mira asked leaning coolly against the lockers. Davina shut her locker with an annoyed sigh.

"Not yet, and I really don't care to. Just another lecture about my 'undecided' future. Did you have yours?"

Mira gave her another sympathetic look of understanding. "Mine just finished actually. I told her that I wanted to continue ballet, but only in college. I've noticed the meetings usually go by quicker and painlessly if you just say you're going to college."

Davina laughed, "I could learn a thing or two from you." As they were approaching the end of their high school years, their school assigned more and more meetings for students with future-advisers and counselors. Trying to help them decide whether not they were going to attend university in Japan or in the United States, and to inform them about deadlines. Many here at this school, Davina noticed, opted to join the armed forces or go into politics or international relations or business. These future-meetings didn't go so well for Davina. Her stubborn counselor would simply disregard her wishes and simply would write in her file "undecided" when Davina said she wanted to become a professional ballerina. "I expect mine today to be no different."

"Are your parents getting on to you about college applications?" Mira asked, ambling with Davina to lunch.

"They have since the seventh grade. When they noticed I was getting serious about this 'ballet thing.'" Davina said, mimicking her father's voice whenever he spoke with her about her future.

Mira giggled. "I'm guessing your dad isn't too happy about it?"

"He doesn't want me to get my hopes up, apparently. My mom is a little more understanding, she thinks I should consider doing ballet in college, but majoring in something with 'marketable skills.'" Davina said, again mimicking.

"So what do you plan on doing?"

"I'll probably fill out the applications anyway. Just to appease my parents and the teachers here. I'm still trying to audition for S.A.B."

Mira nodded her head. S.A.B., or the School of American Ballet in New York city, was Davina's dream. Mira tried not to get Davina hyped up on the discussion, knowing that Davina was still bitter about leaving New York just months before the academy's winter term. Davina's mood grew sullen. Her parents were held to the word of the military and the government, and if they had allowed her to stay in New York by herself, she bet she would be in S.A.B. right now, instead of Japan.

Mira sensed Davina's depression. "Have you been given the 'okay' to fly to New York for the school's audition?"

Davina shook her head, rolling her eyes, reliving the many talks she had had with her parents about the audition. "Not yet, supposedly they don't want me to fly in New York and stay by myself for a few days. I'm trying to see if my mom could take me, but she is apparently considering it with her boss." Davina folded two of her fingers like quotation marks.

"The rumors are that Victoria is sure to get in to S.A.B., with the money her parents donated. Apparently she'll be joining you in New York for the auditions. Just what I heard." Mira pushed the sliding doors aside and both girls walked into the noisy cafeteria. Mira and Davina waved to their friend, Jayla who was already at their signature table by the window.

Davina had twitched at Mira's mention of Victoria. She had been one of the first people Davina had been acquainted with at her new school. Victoria was so nice at first, but when Davina openly said she was planning to go pro in ballet and wished to be accepted in the S.A.B., her expression with Davina changed like night and day. Her composure grew cold and her genuine welcoming smile soured. "Too bad, we have to be rivals now. Because there is no way I'm letting some new girl get into S.A.B. and not me."

Davina didn't let her internal bitterness reached her face. "I hope that is just a rumor. I don't want to deal with her and my parents." Davina pulled out a chair from across Jayla, Mira doing the same.

"Deal with who?" Jayla chimed in, spinning the back of her earring. Jayla was beautiful, genetically a mutt, mixed with just about _everything._ Davina often called her the human equivalent of New York city. Tall, dark-skinned, soft featured, and elegant. Such majesty came through in her ballet dancing and was artistic enough to make Davina envious and wish she could be at least half as elegant as Jayla. Clad in a bright green top, her dark skinny jeans made her already long body look taller.

"Victoria," Davina retorted with a groan as all three of them glanced to the right at the center table. As if cued, Victoria, a tall, confident, girl stood from her table, laughing with her large group of friends. Her attention turned to Davina's table, as though she had sensed their glances. She made eye contact with each of the three girls, hers staying with Davina slightly longer than Mira and Jayla.

"Don't pay attention to her. Isn't it a bit early for Vicky's mind games?" Jayla stabbed her fork into her plate of vegetables.

"Sad part is that we four might have been good friends if we weren't all doing ballet." Mira reasoned in jest.

"I kind of don't blame her, the chance to be in the School of American Ballet is at stake. If the competition gets soft, she'll ease right in and get chosen by a company." Davina added.

Jayla dropped her utensils and quickly wiped her lips. "Speaking of S.A.B.," she incited. "Guess what I heard?"

Mira and Davina shrugged at each other and leaned in closer.

"S.A.B. is going to hold auditions for the first time in Tokyo!" Jayla whispered, fighting excited giggles.

"What?!" Davina's voice squeaked, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Shhh!" Jayla waved a fluttering hand, looking cautiously around see if Davina's gasp had attracted any nosy attention.

"Why?" Mira whispered in a raspy voice. "Don't they only hold them in New York?"

"And who did you hear this from?" Davina interrupted, not to allowing herself to get too excited before knowing how trusted and reputed was the source.

Jayla looked behind her both her shoulders once more, reassured that no one else was listening, she continued with her news. "Because their current star Kasuse, Nao, offered the school a very, very large lump sum of money under the condition that they go to Japan to recruit for their next winter term. Her reason being that distance shouldn't be why talented young girls don't go after their dreams. They are still going to hold their usual auditions in New York, but they are also holding them here for diverse recruitment. And for your information, Davina, my source was none other than Kasuse's former dance instructor, Joshujo-sensei."

Both Mira's and Davina's eyes grew wide and their jaws dropped. Joshujo was a big deal in dance.

Jayla laughed gleefully at their reactions. "I overheard my ballet instructor talking with her after my class yesterday."

"You mean eavesdropped— " Mira added playfully, causing Jayla to glare at her.

"Overheard! Not eavesdropped. I was late putting away my things, and they were next to the locker room. They were _begging_ someone to overhear with how loud they were speaking. I swear, my instructor hears me speak Japanese to her all the time, yet she still thinks I'm some incoherent idiot."

"You probably speak better than any of us in class." Mira agreed, before taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Overheard or not, that saves me half a dozen fights with my parents and a six thousand mile trip to New York." Davina mixed her salad, more cheerful than she had been in a while. "Will any of you consider auditioning?" Davina asked.

"Well..." Jayla hesistated.

"Excuse me? I thought the reason neither of you were going to audition was because you didn't want to bother going all the way to New York?" Davina asked her unsure friends.

"Oh Davina, you know we never wanted to go pro." Mira said, Jayla nodded her head, chewing on her food. "I'm perfectly fine with doing ballet as a past time."

"I just wanna teach ballet. If it'll make you feel better, I'll at least consider talking to them about becoming a ballet teacher when they're visiting Japan." Jayla reassured Davina.

Davina sighed, turning back to her food. "It's not about making me feel better, it's about not giving up because everyone wants us to grow up."

Jayla scoffed. "Is this about the counselor meetings?!"

Mira gave Davina a small hug, "I wouldn't mind going pro, I just have other interests that I would rather pursue. I can forgive myself for changing my plans. Which isn't necessarily giving up. Besides, I was never serious about becoming a professional dancer."

"Me too. Also, I don't think I'm where I should be for my age, if I were to audition for S.A.B.," Jayla began.

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

"I'm almost eighteen years old. There are girls younger than us who are at S.A.B. and other academies who are already pro." Said Jayla.

"Stop it, you're making me feel old." Davina muttered. Jayla flashed her teeth in between thin lips, realizing her mistake. Davina was worried if she didn't make the academy this year, it would be her final shot. The life of a dancer was short and she was spending her prime within school walls, unable to commit herself to an academy because of her parents wishes for her to live with them until she was of age. Mira and Jayla met eyes, mouthing silently their worries for Davina.

Out of no where, Jayla smiled. "Well, I'm done with my lunch. You two want to go outside and enjoy the sun for the rest of lunch period?" Jayla stood up, grabbing her school bag.

"I'm up for that. Davina?" Mira also stood and cohering Davina, trying to use peer pressure to get Davina to join them.

Davina, however, smiled back, but declined their offer. "You two go ahead, I have to go to the library to do the English homework I didn't finish last night."

Mira and Jayla looked at each other, internally debating whether or not persist further on. "Are you sure? We can go with you?" Jayla insisted.

Davina now stood, throwing away her half eaten lunch. "No, I must go do that homework. My parents will take me out of ballet if my grades drop. You two go enjoy the weather." With a quick, "bye," Davina showed a forced smile then left the cafeteria in haste.

Davina realized their worries for her, but all she wanted now was to be alone. She walked across the school to the library. Choosing a table in the very back, behind dozens of shelves full of books. She opened her textbooks and flipped her notebook to an unfinished book report. Taking a deep breath, she pushed all of her bad feelings away from her mind, trying to focus on her report that was due in half an hour.

On her journey to become a professional ballerina, she would have to go through it alone.

* * *

That same afternoon, Shirokin gakuen was rushed with wide-eyed concerned mothers, shaking photos of Fujiyama sensei as a hostess at the head teacher. "What is the meaning of this?!"

Back in class 3-D, a classmate rolled in on a scooter. "Shizuka-chan's working part-time as a bar hostess!"

The boys in the class clamored, practically jumping from their seats. "Eh? Really? No way!"

The boy on the scooter rode on to his desk. "I don't know who, but someone ratted her out. Head teacher is really furious."

The rest of the class was alive with speculative conversation, everyone except Shin and Noda. Shin spotted a distressed Noda, fidgeting every so often, head hanging low.

Just then, Yankumi returned to the room and ignored the questioning boys, and walked straight up to Noda.

Noda looked from the corner of his eye at Yankumi, but kept his head down. Everyone became silent.

"Was it you? Was it you who sent the photo to Head teacher?" Her voice rang deeply, her body tense and stiff.

Noda's hand dropped from his chin and he slouched into his chair. He finally said, "what I did?"

Yankumi snapped, "what would you do a thing like that for?"

Noda stood. "So? It's the truth! That woman was working as a hostess at a bar!"

"It doesn't mean you can do something like that!"

"So teachers can get away with everything?!" Noda yelled back. "It's her fault. She took my present and threw it in the trash." His eyes dropped with the weight of his words. Everyone is the room could sense the excruciating pain he must have felt. Yankumi could even feel sympathetic, but all mercy left her when he continued. "It serves her right. Right?"

She punched him and dared to hit him again, but was held back by her arms. She continued to yell at him. "Is that the extent of your love? If you felt better after ratting her out, you don't deserve to love anyone!"

Blood dripped from Noda's lip. He had never seen Yankumi so passionately angry and he had never been so angry with himself. "Shut up!" He bumped Yankumi away and ran from the room despite worried shouts from his classmates.

* * *

It was the end of the school day for Davina, with the exception of her counselor meeting. Hers was the last of the day, leaving her to dread the last fifteen minutes that she was dismissed from class. She even considered skipping the whole thing and just leave early to go do her errands, but the good girl within her insisted she attend the meeting. "Undecided" will only take a few minutes.

She gently knocked on her counselor's wooden door. "Come in," called from the other side.

Davina timidly walked in and sat in the assigned empty chair for students.

The counselor was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair, but graying roots. She smiled sweetly at Davina, but was obviously tired from a long day of coaching students to higher education. "How are you, Davina?"

"I'm well, thank you, you?" Davina added politely.

"I'm good, just waiting for the end of the day." She rested in her leather chair, her elbows on the armrests, hands clasped in her lap. Davina nodded her head in agreement. The air between them stiffened and the pause grew awkward.

"Have you and your parents discussed your future prospects?" Her counselor asked.

Davina remembered her tiresome arguments with her parents, knowing there was no way she could fully explain what she and her parents had talked about. "We're still discussing it."

"Are you still considering ballet as a career?" The counselor tilted her head in a way that annoyed Davina. Considering? When was there ever any other option? But since when could she say all of that to her counselor?

"I'm thinking about auditioning for the School of American Ballet."

Her counselor slowly nodded her head though Davina wasn't sure what she was actually listening to her. "Do you think you can make it?"

Davina was taken back. What? What kind of a question was that? "I'm good."

Her counselor opened the black binder on the ride side of her desk. "What about a good fine arts school? You can do ballet in college? How does that sound?"

Here we go again. Davina used all her might to not let her inner anger reach her external. What would Davina give to tell this woman that while her intentions were good and fully understood, she was wasting her time. Unconsciously, her boot started tapping on the carpet. Her hand brushed her bangs and secured her ponytail. "Yeah, I'll definitely think about it."

Her counselor's lips curved. She handed Davina some college brochures, mostly schools along the East coast of the United States.

She took the brochures and gave them a quick glance. "Is that all?"

The woman's cheeriness evaporated. "Now Davina, I'm saying this for your benefit, not to hurt your feelings. But the reason I am insisting that you reconsider your decision is because young adults your age go through many changes and often switch majors and pathways in life like"—she snapped her fingers— "that. If for some reason you were unable to continue ballet, I'm just trying to—

The final bell rang for dismissal, shadows of students passed along the peak window on her door. Davina stood, glad for the bell. "Is that all?"

The counselor sighed in defeat and gave Davina a smile. "Please consider those options with your parents. Come by and we'll discuss them again. You may go."

With a quick nod, Davina took her school bag and left.

* * *

Yankumi became worried as her students groaned amongst themselves. The immediate census was that thirty points for their upcoming English midterm was nearly impossible for all of them to achieve.

"Are you all really that stupid?" Yankumi asked. Throughout her homeroom, the boys were lowering the confidence that she had walked in with. Single digit scores? Best ever score of eighteen?

Really? Yankumi thought. Still, she looked at Noda's empty desk and quickly decided what she needed to do. "Alright, from today until the day of midterms, I will tutor after school for English."

The boys whining pierced even louder. "ARGH! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?"

Yankumi didn't raise her voice though. "After school, bring your books, study materials, every resource you have. Everyone do your best!" She raised an arm dramatically with a smile.

Shin, sitting on top of his desk, stared at Noda's vacant desk. "...every resource you have," echoed in Shin's mind and Davina offering her number flashed in his memory. "If you ever need anything, _anything_ , give me a call." He continued staring at Noda's desk, remembering his anguish. "...every resource you have."

Shin decided, in class, that he wouldn't call Davina. She wouldn't be much of a resource if no one had shown up for the tutoring session, but then Kuma did something so uncharacteristic of him. He turned around as they were walking out of school to participate in Yankumi's study group. To Shin, it was remarkable when both Minami and Uchi followed as well.

In their respective homeroom, Shin looked over the study material that Yankumi had provided for them. Despite her honest efforts, they were riddled with spelling mistakes and awkward grammar. He didn't point them all out to her, except for the missing "E" on the front page; English wasn't her designated subject after all.

For their first tutoring session, Yankumi went over the alphabet and cursive, which luckily were in one of her books that were stacked high on her desk. She taught them the alphabet song, which aroused such excitement from the boys that they vowed, much to Shin's annoyance, that they sing the song all the way home. Shin was firm in his wishes that NO he didn't want to join in and that YES he did want to walk several steps behind the ABC choir.

When the boys were strolling along the river, shouting "ABC..." off key at the top of their lungs, Shin spotted, lay hidden in the tall grass, Noda. Eventually Uchi, Minami, and Kuma stopped singing long enough to notice Shin standing, nudging his chin up for them to look down towards the river.

When Uchi called for Noda, Noda turned and lifted himself weakly, as though he were previously dreaming.

"It's possible that Fujiyama might get fired." Shin stated, causing Noda to jerked his head.

"Fired?!"

"She won't," Shin continued. "If everyone in 3-D gets thirty points on the English midterm." He reached for the papers in Kuma's hand to show Noda. "She's not just doing it for Fujiyama, she's doing it for your sake as well."

Noda seemed to turn over Shin's words, digesting them mentally, but then ran away without warning. Noda's disgruntled face was enough for Shin to reconsider his decision. Again without warning, he left his friends by the river, phone already in hand.

"Oi, Shin! Where are you going?" Uchi yelled.

"Gathering another resource." Shin muttered to himself.

The boys, not hearing his answer, scowled amongst themselves. Why were their friends always running off?

* * *

Davina threw herself onto her bed and stretched limply. Screw buying pointe shoes. She had just barely enough time and energy to come home, eat because she hadn't finished her lunch and take a short nap before she went off for her ballet lessons. She had convinced herself that she would use this as leeway time for homework if she ended up not buying her shoes, but again, she thought, screw that.

Her eyes stared straight to the ceiling of her simple room. When Davina was younger she was persistent about hanging posters and decorations in her room, but eventually grew discouraged as it felt as soon as she hung her decor, she needed to take them down again.

She paid attention to the time, yet allowed herself to relax and dose off for a bit, trying to comprehend the events of the day. If Jayla's sourcing was legitimate, which they probably were, S.A.B. was coming to Tokyo and nothing was going to stop her from auditioning. Davina wondered if she should inform her parents, though they might only halfheartedly approve, surely they wouldn't say no? Or worse, they wouldn't actually try to prohibit her from going?

Yes, Davina thought to herself. Even she could admit that she was frightened by the impending expiration date for dancers. But why couldn't the world just let her dance until her body said for her to stop? She could always go back to school but dancing was a ticking clock.

Speaking of clock...Davina drowsily turned her neck to the digital clock on her dresser. The cruel numbers of 18:34 glared harshly, making her eyes squint. 6:34...less than twenty minutes to make to get up, get her things, walk to the train station, ride the train to Shinjuku and get dressed for her ballet lesson... Davina practically threw herself from her bed and grabbed her dance bag. Running around her room, her cellphone began ringing. She cursed to herself. Probably her mom, asking if she had left for ballet yet. She let it go to voice mail. Throwing a light jacket over her arm, Davina threw her phone into her ballet bag and ran.

* * *

Shin got her voice mail. He ended the call. Go figure, he thought. Whatever happened to "give me a call if you need anything!" But then again, she might of simply missed the call. He recalled the time he had helped her several weeks ago. It was night then and she was obviously just finishing with her ballet. Putting the phone back into his pocket, he thought up of another way to get a hold of Davina.

* * *

Davina dragged her weak self up the station stairs of Minato, moaning with each step. She had just _barely_ made it to her class. She was out of breath and her back was already wet with sweat, but she had made it. The other girls were already at the barre warming up. Davina made it to her position, and began warming up, ironically her heart was pounding from stress.

Checking her phone for the time, her screen showed one missed call. After pressing the menu button, it revealed the call from a local number. A local Japanese number...could it have been...? Damn it! The original call was hours ago. Why didn't she answer?! Davina pressed the call button. Her gut quivered and her heart pounded in her throat as the line beeped. She couldn't recall a time she had been more nervous about a phone call.

It had been weeks since she had seen or heard Shin, but instantly recognized his voice when he answered.

Shin had had his phone ready in his hand to call her once more, but she had beat him to the punch. "Moshimoshi, Davina..."

"Shin..."

"I need a favor." He said.

"What? What kind of favor?" She walked on with the crowd, finger in one ear, the phone receiver on the other. She searched for an empty spot by the station to stand away from the rushing crowd where she could focus on her conversation with Shin. She didn't want to appear spacey, trying to keep her tone interested. She couldn't believe she was actually having this phone call with him.

"It's a favor for a friend. Starting tomorrow. Can you help?" He asked her, as though it were so simple for her to give him an answer.

Davina bit her lip. All the errands she hadn't completed for that day were shoved off for tomorrow. Judging by the softness of the box in her current ballet shoes, she needed to buy another pair immediately. She had also hoped to start formulating a plan for her audition, including date, routine, resume, parents, everything. She also wanted to stay regular in her workouts to stay slim as well as fluid in her ballet movements. She also had actually wanted to get some college research done as well as starting on a few applications. Not to mention all the homework she had been putting off... As if she could say all that to Shin, especially when she had never in her wildest imagination think that he would dare to call her for help.

"Yes, I'll help, with anything remember?" She said clearly, declaring her reliability, even to herself.

The phone line went dead. What? Davina checked her phone screen and confirmed that her phone hadn't randomly lost reception and hung up on him. Her phone was fine; he had ended the call before he could give her anymore information...

Davina suddenly felt a familiar presence behind her. Slowly turning around, she nearly jumped. There stood Shin, as casual as she remembered, putting his phone away into his blazer pocket, carrying a fold of papers. Where the hell did he come from?! Did he teleport or something?

"Sorry, I missed your first call. I was late for ballet." Davina explained.

"Sorry, I didn't make a second call." Shin sighed.

Huh? How long had he been watching her? Davina speculated.

Shin had been waiting for her, waiting by the Minato station. He was going to watch her reaction when he called again, making sure she wasn't intentionally missing his calls. Yet Davina had surprised him by sincerely returning his call.

"What do you need help with Shin?" Davina asked.

Again, she called him Shin. So polite but so personal with him. He didn't correct her again, understanding that it in part due to her western roots.

Not a favor for himself, Shin thought. Without saying a word, he handed her the fold of papers he was carrying. Her fingertips gripped the corners. She could only read bits of the kanji, but she caught the English mistake towards the middle of the sheet. "Let's Bigin!"

"There should be an E there, not an I..." She flipped the page. "Oh my word..." She muttered under her breath. Spelling mistakes, tense problems, missing articles...is _this_ how they taught students English here...? No wonder...

Shin read the expression on her face, seeing that she understood part of her task. "Everyone in my class must get thirty points on their English midterm next week."

Analyzing the study sheets for another moment or so, she flipped the sheet. Shin's English was so good though, it didn't make sense. "How bad is everyone else?"

Shin nodded his head. "Bad."

Not quite what Davina expected for answer but it told her all that she needed to know. "What time tomorrow?"

"After school. I'll come get you from ASIJ." Shin said.

Wait a minute...how did he know which school to find her at?

"Your sweater. ASIJ." Shin must have seen her look of confusion. Ah yes, the sweater she had worn the _last time_ they had met several weeks ago. But that was forever ago, it seemed, how did he recall such minute details with such precision? Davina grunted to herself, could this boy read minds too?

She expected him to depart however he slouched against the stone wall of the station, watching her, indicating he was waiting for her.

"Doushita?" _What's up?_ Davina asked.

"Aren't I walking you home?" Shin asked simply.

"Hmm?" Davina felt her cheeks go pink. "Sure..."

Shin straightened and they walked next to each other in the crowd. More than a couple of times she accidentally bumped into him, causing her heart to patter excitedly in her chest. She peered up at Shin, surprised at how he had turned his head down to her too.

Davina scoffed at herself. Oh Davina, what is wrong with you? He's just a boy. Walking with him is no big deal.

"Starting tomorrow...midterm next week," Shin had said. Davina sighed to herself. It wasn't as though she didn't want to help but with this new task she didn't know how was she going to survive that week. She allowed herself another look at Shin and his calm introversion. She didn't mind being held accountable for her offer, she just hated the rotten timing. Davina heaved another sigh, regardless of her demanding agenda, she'd figure out a way to take care of everything.


	4. Greetings 3D

Counting the Differences

Chapter Four

* * *

The alarm roared at _stupid_ o'clock. Slapping a loose fist on the off button, Davina swore that she should have had a least a couple of more hours to sleep. Night time seemed so rushed lately...

Her body, still half asleep, at first wouldn't listen when she tried leave bed. You need Pointe shoes or you'll hurt your feet. You need to help Shin and his class because you owe him. In between all of that you must put on your make up, get dressed, get money for shoes, go to school, and go to ballet...she reminded herself. Her willing mentality was all that she had to let go of her pillow.

She crawled from her warm bed then staggered to her dresser, her spine shivered in shock from the sudden change in temperature. Turning on the light on her mirror, the dim light made her eyes shut involuntarily. After her vision adjusted, she put two fingers under her red eyes, analyzing the purple puffiness under her bottom lids.

After several layers of concealer, powder, and a fast wardrobe change, Davina shut the door of her bedroom behind her. She stepped down the stairs with not one but two bags, one strap on each shoulder.

Her mom peered up from her toast and jelly, while folding the morning newspaper and spreading the multiple sheets across the tiny kitchen table. "You're up early Davina, what's the occasion?" She asked in French.

"Yeah..." Davina sighed, replying in French. Her mother, a French-native, was fluent in both French and English, but refused to use English with Davina, but conversed with her husband in English. "I'm going to go buy new Pointe shoes. Mine are getting too soft to practice with now. A few more releves and the shank will probably snap."

Her mother was of shorter stature than Davina and she wore her hair short, dyed darker than her natural brown hue. Her dark eyes were large and bagged from age. "I swear you're my sister's, not mine." Her mother would joke with Davina, as Davina's aunt was the only redhead among brunettes on her mother's side.

Davina thought her mother was a beautiful lady, and could see why her father fell head over heels in love with her at first sight. Her French features had differed from the American girls her father had dated. They were young when they had met each other in Algeria, both abroad for government and military prospects. "It was her smile," her father had said. "I was a free man before she had smiled at me." Her father's stories became Davina's definition of love. She hadn't experienced romance yet but she imagined love as an internal inhibition that could turn the boldest and strictest of army men into stammering, love-struck third graders.

"Why are you going so early? Can't you go after school?" Davina's mother inquired, taking a crunchy taste of her jam covered toast.

"Um," Davina couldn't decide if to tell her mother about the tutoring. It wasn't that her mother would have had a problem with the English tutoring, hell, she might have even encouraged the activity. It was the fact that the tutoring had originated from Shin saving her. She would eventually tell her mother that she was tutoring English...just not today. "I want to break in my shoes and sew on the ribbons because Madame has two classes back-to-back and we don't have enough time before class. May I have some money to buy them?" She changed the subject, taking a plate of toast to the table. She then poured herself a glass of orange juice.

Her mom drank some of her steaming latte from her mug with squinted eyes. "Go get my purse."

Davina handed her mother's purse by the strap for her kitchen chair to her mother. Her mother took out her wallet and filed through the different currencies, eventually passing to Davina ¥13,000, enough for at least two pairs of slippers.

"Start buying two pairs from now on, it'll save you a trip every couple or so weeks. Do you have your foot measured?" Her mom sternly asked, sliding the bills into Davina's outstretched hand.

"Ma, I haven't grown. I've been the same measurements for two years now." Davina deposited the money into her wallet.

Here she goes again, Davina's mother thought as she rolled her eyes at her newspaper. It was too early in the day for her to argue with Davina. "Right, right."

"Is dad awake yet?" Davina finished her toast and juice, standing up to put her dishes into the sink.

"He will be, in about ten minutes." Her mother said, turning the page of her newspaper.

It _is_ early, Davina thought bitterly as she yawned. Her father had been the one to lecture Davina, in his harsh Bostonian accent, on waking up earlier, "sleep early and get up early, or you'll waste your day in bed."

She even daydreamed as she put away her dishes of taking a pot and banging on it like tone-deaf two year old next to her father's ear, just as payback for all those years of not letting her sleep in. Her father wouldn't find it funny though, he'd probably snap her in half like toothpicks.

Though it would probably be the only chance Davina would ever have to give her father a taste of his own medicine, she didn't have time to be snapped in half. Instead, she scraped off the bread crumbs from her palms then took the straps of her schoolbag and her dance bag to her shoulders. She felt heavy as she balanced, unable to imagine making it through the day. "Say bye to dad for me."

* * *

The sun hung low in the eastern sky, giving birth to a beautiful day. Tokyo was a gorgeous city, especially in the morning, Davina thought as she admired the urban scenery through her sunglasses. It was in those times of wonder, exploring a city and a city's people from the eyes of a foreigner that Davina was thankful for her army-brat background. The cultural stimulation as her father had preached made her lucky to be able to live in more countries than many could ever visit. "Because you speak these languages, because you have lived in these places, you are more interesting and no matter what you decide to do in your life, you will always have that." Her mother had often told her.

Davina followed a couple of Japanese junior high students down the train stairs. She rubbed her rail pass on the ticket sensor and pushed through the bars to the platform. Walking briskly under the direction signs that hung overhead, Davina remembered getting accustomed with the Tokyo metro system when she had first arrived.

There were _so_ many different lines that she kept mixing up which ones led to home in Roppongi and which ones led up Shinjuku for her ballet class. Back then, the stations were mazes themselves. Davina had always been directional-savvy but when she got to the Tokyo station for the first time, it frustrated her to no end how she couldn't find the _correct_ (why did there need to be more than one?!) North-West station exit to meet with Mira and Jayla to go to some famous bookstore.

After going down another flight of stairs, Davina walked up the platform, away from the stairs to get on one of the first train cars where there was usually more room. If she could avoid standing, she would prefer that to standing, otherwise the weight of her bags would drag her every which way whenever the train accelerated and braked.

Davina spotted a group of male high school students toward the end of the platform, uniformed, slouched, and casual. She immediately thought of Shin and wondered if he was also getting ready for school at the moment. He played off the attitude of being "too cool for school," but in the few hours that she had been with him, he didn't come off as dumb. Actually, he came off as rather intelligent, which was why she was astounded when he showed her the English study sheet.

Davina acknowledged that she didn't have all the facts yet, but she knew that something didn't fit when the study worksheet went over the alphabet and rudimentary vocabulary. The fact that Shin could form an entire sentence perfectly in English meant that something didn't fit.

" _How bad is everyone?"_

" _Bad."_

The train blew its horn and everyone crowded the platform edge. The train slowed and came to a steaming stop. Davina looked back to the high school students, but only caught a glimpse of their uniforms amongst the crowd boarding the train. Seeing no empty seats, Davina gripped a sling that hung on the train bars. She was admittedly curious about Shin and the so-called 3D class and was a little excited about this tutoring thing.

* * *

"Ohayo gozaimasu." _Good morning._ Davina bowed her head as she entered the dance supplies shop. The old keeper bowed her head and returned the greeting, "ohayo gozaimasu."

Since Davina got on the train, she was preparing herself on making her shoe order in perfect Japanese. She practiced over and over again in her head, and verified the definitions in her pocket translator until she was confident that she was ready to conduct her order without speaking a single English word.

She took a deep a breath. "I need size 7 French Sansha shoes and size 35 in Russian pointe shoes, medium to regular width, please." She said in Japanese. She exhaled, satisfied in her speech.

The old shopkeeper just smiled at first. "I'm sorry, I don't speak English." The shopkeeper responded to her in English.

Davina's head jerked forward. She didn't know whether she was amused or just dumbfounded. Really? Really? But I just spoke to you in Japanese?! Eventually Davina sighed and handed the shopkeeper a sheet with her measurements and preferred manufacturers. The old shopkeeper smiled sweetly then left through a door behind the register counter to the shoe warehouse to find her shoes.

Davina meanwhile hovered around the shop, glancing at the vividly colored and intricately detailed costumes, and the displays of basic ballet slippers, Pointe, and Demi-Pointe shoes. She heard chatter at the front and saw the shopkeeper carrying two shoe boxes, speaking excitedly with her coworker. They both stared with obvious fascination at Davina.

The shopkeeper whispered to her coworker then gave another pleasant smile at Davina as she walked up the register with her wallet. Davina was starting to wonder if she had been perfect in ordering in Japanese because the shopkeeper and her coworker seemed really comfortable with talking about her _in front_ of her.

"See! I told you!" The shopkeeper said to her coworker.

"It really is red! Red hair! Natural red hair! It's cool isn't it? She looks beautiful, doesn't she?" Her coworker replied.

Davina paid her yen into the money plate by the register. _I'm standing right here!_ Davina's mind screamed. _Don't think that I don't understand..._

The shopkeeper counted her bills and replaced coins to the plate. Davina took her change and carefully set her shoe boxes into her dance bag. The two Japanese women continued to exchange their compliments about Davina. She only wished that they would actually realize her presence and at least quietly talk instead of loudly discussing their excitement about her hair.

Putting her bag straps on her shoulder, Davina smiled and said, "wakatta." _I understood._ She left the shop to the sound of the two ladies' laughing, unsure if they were laughing at her or themselves.

* * *

Noda had bowed to each of his individual classmates, "ONEGAISHIMASU!" He had begged. The entire night, he ran all around the city, knocking on his classmates' doors. All he did was ask, normally he would have threatened them, but his sincere desperation was shown. Each of them, wishing to see Noda happy again, promised eventually to attend the tutoring sessions, no matter how much they detested studying.

The next morning, Shin had walked in, catching murmurs and worries about Noda and the boys' individual meetings with him the night before.

Like yesterday, Noda's desk was vacant. Shin had no doubts though. He was sure that Noda would show his face after school, he wouldn't have ran off the day before if he didn't care.

Shin was certain, which was why an hour before school ended, he left. To his friends, Uchi, Minami, and Kuma, his early departure was sudden and unexpected. Yes, Shin was good with English, but didn't he want to help them after school?

"Shin? You wants us to go with you?" Minami asked as Shin was already halfway up the backstairs. The three boys were ready, almost out of their seats, awaiting Shin's response.

"Don't." Shin uttered curtly, swiftly exiting the classroom.

His classmates resettled into their desks, still deciding whether or not to follow him. He been especially reserved that day at school, probably worried about Noda, they all concluded. If Shin didn't come clean soon about why he had been acting particularly strange lately, they would beat it out of him.

* * *

Precisely after school, Davina waited for Shin by the newly constructed gates of the American School in Japan, or ASIJ. The story about the gates, as Davina heard, was for extra security after September 11th 2001. A few months later, the gates arrived, then came Davina.

Students were flowing out from the gates towards local shops and the train station. The school did their best shoo everyone away after school and club activities to discourage students from staying late to go clubbing in Roppongi.

"Why are you carrying two bags?" Jayla and Mira had inquired incessantly throughout the day as though expecting a different, truer answer if they kept asking.

"I bought new Pointe shoes before school started." Davina had answered, unzipping her dance bag to show them the two boxes.

"French and Russian," Jayla had nodded her head in approval. "I personally find Russian shoes just _too_ hard, even broken in."

Victoria, with perfect timing, had whisked by, looking at the shoes then sneering at Davina. "She can buy them but can she dance with them?!" She had said, too loudly to be inconspicuous. Davina put away her shoes.

Standing outside the high school, Davina was lightweight again, carrying one bag as she had stuffed her schoolbag into her locker after her last class. She had stowed away any materials she needed for homework into her dance bag. She waited for Shin, pondering if she needed to bring along anything for the English tutor—

She felt a tap on her shoulder and unconsciously turned her head. A finger poked her cheek.

"Baka," muttered Shin's deep timbre voice.

Shin took a quick look at Davina and regretted not telling her to dress more casually. He hadn't considered that maybe ASIJ didn't require uniforms. Perhaps 'nice' was casual for her, but how was she supposed to teach a classroom full of girl-hungry boys if they were constantly hitting on her because she looked nice? Of course, her clothes wouldn't matter if her red hair immediately did them in. Her pencil straight hair was tied back, high on her head, leaving her fringe and shorter strands along her face, framing her eyes. She wore a long brown vest over a turtle-neck, mid-thigh length black dress with a matching brown waist belt, black tights, and brown boots.

Technically, since she wasn't showing much skin, she'd be fine. Shin knew his classmates were attracted to cutesy girls so maybe Davina would come off, because of her straight composure, too serious for their attention? Shin took another look at Davina. Even though he wasn't interested, he could admit that she was pretty. He thought about 3-D's rough-housing tendencies and was curious as to how she would react. The poor girl didn't have a chance.

_Why is he staring at me strangely?_ Davina thought to herself, trying to meet his glance to see what he was examining. Her clothes? Did she stain them? What was wrong with them?

"Are we going?" Davina asked, deliberately poking his cheek. "Huh, Baka?"

Shin cocked an eyebrow at her. Davina smiled mirthfully at him, which reminded Shin of her trusting face when she declared to him that she was no longer scared, noting how its intensity matched to that of her smile. His worries about introducing her to his class were gone instantly. They could stare all they want, but they would have to also learn English. Otherwise, how could they ask her out?

* * *

Shin brought Davina to the back corner of the school, the suspense building in her gut. Why was this classroom tucked so far away? Finally, down a short stack of stairs, Davina saw the "3-D" sign that hung ominously over the door. His ring clicked as he grabbed the nob, but before he turned it he warned Davina, "this is a treat for them so they will probably be a little excited at first."

Before Davina could even process his cautionary statement, Shin opened the door wide enough for her to step through first. Loud conversation leaked from the other side, making Davina a little intimidated, but by taking tiny steps, she entered the classroom with Shin behind her.

Davina first saw to her left the vividly colored chalkboard, decorated with cartoons and pink kanji. Her neck panned slowly to the right, absorbing the busy scenery full of teenage boys. Toys, scooters, bright chalkboard, and rowdy boys, Davina wondered if she were in a kindergarten class. The boys quickly noticed the foreign girl placidly standing at their door.

If she had felt intimidated before, nothing could explain the awkwardness that consumed her and the loud classroom when they froze their positions and dropped their conversations, infectiously growing mute. Their jaws gaped one by one and their eyes grew wide, showing their whites as they looked at Davina, then in unison to Shin.

Davina also turned back to Shin, biting her lip. Was this dead silence what he meant by excited? She gazed upon each of the students, taking note of their differing aspects. They seemed like the rowdy type, so different from introverted Shin. Hair in funky styles, dyed different colors, many weren't even wearing the uniforms, while many of them wore graphic shirts under their blazers.

Shin said to Davina, "just sit tight, Yankumi will be here soon. She's a little late." Shin let the door shut behind him, then strolled to his desk, ignoring the questioning stares at him from his classmates.

"Shin...?" Davina's nervous voice squeaked. Her hand squeezed her bag strap securely, as though for her dear life.

He slumped in his seat. "They won't eat you alive." Shin said in English to her, winning even more surprise from the class. Davina gave him a small trusting smile, leaving Shin satisfied that she wasn't going to escape from the classroom, screaming. So far so good.

Uchi, Minami, and Kuma showed off their similarly baffled faces to each other for reassurance. Then all three curved to Shin, pondering the same thing as the whole class. She had called him, "Shin," and whatever he had said seemed to put her at ease. How did he know her? And if they were on a first-name basis, why hadn't he mentioned her before?

Uchi tapped on Shin's desk, pointing a finger at Davina. "Hey, did you kidnap her or something?"

Shin shook his bangs from his brows to glare at Uchi. "What the hell? No." Why were his friends so quick to make such horrible conclusions?

"Where did you find her?" Minami rotated his desk, arms covering the back of his chair, occasionally peeking over his shoulder at Davina.

"Is she going to teach English?" Kuma asked, still holding his English text book in the air, opened to the page he had been studying.

Shin moved his hands from his chin. "She's offering her help with the tutoring. English isn't Yankumi's subject. I figured she would be handy."

The classroom's gaze fell back on Davina by the chalkboard. She pulled an idle chair, the legs sliding piercingly against the floor tiles, and sat next to Yankumi's designated post. She nonchalantly took a paper pad from her bag and began jotting down notes, cool and confident as though she were alone in the classroom. Shin scanned the classroom, amazed by how many of his fellow classmates actually bought her confident act. He remembered Davina as the timid girl who ducked her head because strangers were gawking at her features. If Shin didn't know any better, she probably would have fooled him too.

"How do you know her?" Minami nudged Shin, fingers brushing through the pages of his English book.

"We've met before." Shin answered.

"Ehh?!" The three boys whooped. They pouted at Shin, why had the bastard kept her secret?

Uchi slapped his shoulder. "Idiot! You didn't tell us you had a girlfriend!"

"She's not—" Shin attempted, but his three friends continued to bombard him with their accusations.

"You should have told us!"

"Especially about a pretty girl like that!"

"Bastard!"

"Are you two friends?" Kuma asked quietly.

Shin blinked at his friend, stumped. Are we? Shin dwelt on Kuma's question. Before he could come up with a response, Yankumi entered the classroom, weighed down by a tall stack of books, wearing an tired-eyed expression of defeat. She nearly dropped her books when she saw almost every desk full with a person, ready to study.

Davina looked to her right at Yankumi, note pad in hand. So this was her... Pigtails, gym wear, young, and pretty cute for a teacher, but maybe a little dorky?

"Hurry up and start the lesson!" Someone chimed.

Yankumi was heartbroken. She had doubted her homeroom and then they went and did something like this... "You guys...all of you came."

"For the sake of one of our own, we would do anything."

"It's duty and compassion."

"It can't hurt to study sometimes."

"It can't be helped. He even got on his knees and begged." Added another classmate sitting towards the back of the classroom.

"Who begged on his knees?" Yankumi uttered softly. She looked to Noda's desk, which was still empty.

"Who do you think?" Shin said, not meeting Yankumi's gaze.

Everyone in the classroom watched the door and as if cued, Noda, a little embarrassed, leaned against the door. Davina wrote in her notes, 'Noda-stylish young man, scarf wearing, ears pierced, short and light brown hair.'

Davina looked to Shin, seeing his smile directed toward the door. Their eyes meet for a moment. They both experienced another wave of clarity. Is that him? Is this all for his sake? Davina's vision darted at Noda then back at Shin.

Shin blinked and gave a slight nod. That's him.

Yankumi's eyes grew wide. "Noda!"

The young man at the door, finally lifted his head, and slowly stepped to Yankumi, his eyes still facing the ground. "I'm sorry."

Yankumi glowed warmly as she smiled from ear to ear. She took several breaths, so close to crying. Suddenly her grip on her study materials loosened and they scattered to the floor. She ruffled his hair playfully, "alright! Alright!"

Noda bashfully tried to shake away from her hand but couldn't stop grinning. Hand in pocket, he returned to this desk to the clapping of his classmates. Shin was smiling, relieved for his friend's return; Davina couldn't help but let a curve sweep across her lips.

"Everybody, let's start the lesson." Yankumi shouted, her expression of defeat completely gone, replaced by inspiration. "We'll work hard." She lifted an arm passionately into the air. "OH!"

When no one in class followed her cheer,"let's all do it, OH!"

This was enough to gather soft arm waves but no cheers. Yankumi huffed, "that's too soft! OH!"

"Oh..." The entire class this time gave another attempt, still too soft. Davina even raised an arm and uttered her soft"oh." Was this a teacher or a cheerleader? Was she really serious?

"ONE MORE TIME! OH!" Yankumi waved her arm hard, oozing with so much excitement that even Davina was inspired. "OH!" the class roared, shaking both arms into the air, jumping from their desks.

Davina clapped her hands but reacted to the mess of books on the floor by picking them up. When the cheering calmed was when Yankumi _finally_ noticed Davina. Why is there a red-headed foreigner in my classroom...? Yankumi thought.

" _Who are you?_ " Yankumi asked the young lady who didn't face at her at first. Davina gathered the books and papers into her chair and opened a few of the books. After flipping through a few of the pages, Davina created two different stacks of books, occasionally murmuring to herself in approval or shaking her head and muttering "no, this won't work."

Eventually Davina smiled politely at Yankumi and bowed her head. "Summons, Davina desu." _I am Davina Summons._

Yankumi's mouth hung open, mouthing 'oh...' "Da-bi-na, Sa-min-su."

Davina simpered. B or V, Davina couldn't bother to even to bother with the difference anymore.

" _But...who are you?_ " Yankumi asked again.

Meanwhile, Shin had stood and walked to the front of the class. The rest of the classmates had fallen under another wave of silence. "Davina came with me. She's fluent in English, you could use the help."

"These books here," Davina set her hands on top of a stack of books, speaking in Japanese to Yankumi, "are British-English based. I can't remember which one was taught in Japan—"

"American-English." Shin interrupted, taking one of the books and filing through it to confirm Davina's assertion.

"Right." Davina held the other stack. "Then these are American English, which is what you want to study from."

"There's a difference...?" Yankumi whispered to herself as Davina placed the British-English books aside.

"Not many, but notable ones like spelling, regular vocabulary, slang, pronunciation, Ah versus AHH." Davina demonstrated.

"Ah," voiced Yankumi. Davina smiled with tight lips to keep herself from laughing.

"The alphabet is still the same." Shin said, referring to the tutoring session the day before.

Davina took the Day-2 study work sheets and gave them a quick glance. Taking Yankumi's pen, she scribbled some corrections and showed them to Yankumi.

Yankumi had done her best when she prepared the study-sheet, but she was glad for Davina's corrections. She didn't want for her mistakes to risk the midterm exam grades.

The study-sheets were passed out and Davina went to the chalkboard to draw straight lines and the alphabet. Yankumi went over the mass corrections with the class. When Davina was done with the chalkboard and Yankumi finished giving the corrections, Davina handed Yankumi the chalk. "Dozo sensei." _It's yours from here, teacher._

Yankumi nodded her head. "Arigatou, Dabina-chan." She smiled warmly at Davina, causing Davina to smile back.

Davina sat back in her chair and followed along while Yankumi went over the alphabet, hand forming the letter-shape in the air. So this was her...Yankumi... Davina had been in the classroom for less than fifteen minutes and she was already overcome with such emotion. She might be dorky but she was also lovely, Davina thought. Davina looked over at Shin, who was obviously bored, staring off to the side, tapping his fingers.

"Shi!"

" _Si!_ " Davina corrected Yankumi as the class formed the letter 'C' in the air.

"Shi?" Yankumi tried again, no different from her first pronunciation.

Davina shrugged her mistake. "Nothing."

"Let her do it!" A random student piped up.

Yankumi stopped mid-letter, the chalk mark quibbled as she turned. "Huh?"

"Let's hear the girl say the alphabet!" Another student shouted.

"Me?" Davina put down her notes and stood awkwardly, waiting for Yankumi's approval but she handed Davina the chalk. Davina sighed and began writing the letters on the board.

"A... B... C..." Davina annunciated loudly, writing the corresponding lower case and upper case letter.

Peering away from the side of the classroom, Shin saw his classmates grin absentmindedly, the same exact lustful expressions that they wore when Fujiyama was teaching. He had seen his classmates hit on pretty girls like Davina with undying eagerness. However, probably because of the language barrier, they weren't sure what to do with her. Fujiyama was unattainable because of age, Davina was unattainable because of language... Shin did another overlook at his drooling classmates... _psh_ , like that would stop them from trying.

Noda sat a couple of desks ahead of Shin, paying attention with more dedication and focus than Shin had ever seen. Regardless of the circumstances, Noda was trying for Fujiyama, or Shizuka as he called her. Watching Davina chanting the second half of the alphabet, seeing the classroom motioning in the air, and fixed vision on the back of Noda's head, Shin found himself applauding Noda for his determination to fight the odds for Fujiyama. Originally, his feelings for her were shrugged off as a simple high school crush yet every desk in the classroom was full thanks to him and the true extent of his love for Shizuka. Shin would always respect him for that.

* * *

"..and Z!" Davina projected then swiveled around to see the entire roster of the class, with Shin as the only exception, had scooted their desks closer to the board. Or had her eyes mistaken her? No...because there wasn't such a gap between Shin's desk and the rest of his classmates' desks before. Their goofy dreamlike smiles confirmed her suspicions. So _this_ is what Shin meant by excited. Noda though seemed focused at least.

Davina set the chalk down with a loud _pang!_ when she realized that she had been standing and staring awkwardly. She clapped her white powder from her fingers then tucked a loose strand of hair to her ear.

"Next, sensei?" Davina directed to Yankumi who had been squinting at her homeroom. Boys! Couldn't they think of anything else but girls?! Poor girl, Yankumi wondered if Shin had found her on the street...but she seemed to be having a good time.

"Sensei?" Davina asked again.

"Huh? Oh...arigatou Dabina." Yankumi smiled at Davina. "Next is grammar!" Yankumi announced loudly, over the groans from her students. Yankumi ignored their whining and went to the board and wrote "S-V-O," and "S-O-V." She then produced their Japanese equivalents.

"Japanese sentence structure follows the order of Subject-Object-Verb. _Kanajo wa kaban wo arimasu._ " She underlined and labeled the specific parts of the sentence. "English, meanwhile follows Subject-Verb-Object order." She went to translate the example then paused. Eventually she turned around to Davina and motioned for her to take over. "English please?"

Davina nodded her head then wrote under Yankumi's writing, "She a bag has." Next to the S-V-O, she added, "She has a bag." She turned and smiled to the class; Shin quickly examined his classmates faces as all of them, except Noda, gleamed red and grinned like idiots. He retracted his earlier assumption. It wasn't her clothes or even her hair, but her smile that did them in. It was only a matter of time before—

"Da-BI-na!" A classmate hollered, waving an arm in the air, waiting until Davina turned to him to listen.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" He asked her with an eager face, smoothing out his hair with his hands.

Davina's mouth slid open. She bit her lip at her feet, too bashful to met their hopeful faces. He had said "boyfriend" as "bo-i-fu-ren-do" so she understood. The question had caught her _completely_ off guard. Eventually, she sighed and with a flirty smile, she let her hands sway at her sides. "Nope, I'm single."

"Shin, why did you tell us that you two were dating?!" Uchi hotly chided at Shin who was drowsily watching this all unfold, internally amused.

"Huh?" _What? I never said—_

"Ehh, Uchi, what about _Bambi-_ chan!" Minami's neck twitched from left to right as he uttered "Bam-bi-chan."

"You can have her!" Uchi slapped Minami's shoulder, evoking Minami to grab Uchi's shirt, causing them to stare each other down with threatening but ridiculous glares.

"Do you date? Would you like to go out on a date?!" Boys were practically screaming their offers at Davina, making her unconsciously step back. Yankumi grew worried for the girl, thinking she would think the worst of their flirting.

"Be quiet, please!" Yankumi modestly tried to shout over their excited yelling. "Quiet, please!" Yankumi grew frustrated. "BE QUIET PLEASE!" It didn't phase them. Davina's watched Yankumi intently, noticing her sweetness and patience dwindling...

Idiots, Yankumi thought to herself. Tired of not being heard, she ripped her glasses from her face. "STOP IT!" The class silenced immediately. Even Davina was scared by the fire that burned in Yankumi's eyes. Davina could only somewhat understand what Yankumi was spouting to her students.

"So you boys think you're gonna pick up girls by fighting over them like a piece of meat?! This nice girl came here to teach you English and you haven't taken her seriously! How the hell are you gonna get good grades on the English mid term?! How can you justify your behavior?!"

…?

Did this happen...often? Davina asked herself, thankful that everyone else was as confused as she was. The teacher's eye-squinted-tight-lipped look of death disappeared suddenly as Yankumi 'rephrased' her words, embarrassed as though she were caught in her underwear. "We shou...should be thankful for our foreigner friend. Ne?" She ruffled one of her student's hair, playing off as sweet.

"So...you... _boys_...piece of meat...how the hell...?" Davina had no idea what she was repeating, trying to translate Yankumi's words while Yankumi's shouts were still fresh in her memory. Yankumi's body stiffened then she closed her hand over Davina's mouth.

"You're not supposed to learn Japanese right now, we're learning English...ne?" Yankumi's nervousness was visible through her forced smile. _Please! Do NOT repeat what you have heard here,_ Yankumi begged internally.

Shin's thumb glided along his curved bottom lip, obviously entertained.

"It's settled then!" Minami stood from his desk and crossed his arms and stuck out his chin out proudly for finding the solution. "Who ever gets the highest the score on the English midterm will win a date with Davina! Operation: Win Davina's heart with English, begin!" He thrust an arm up, exciting his classmates who also shot up their fists in mutual agreement.

Yankumi sighed. These boys never learn... She looked to Davina who was trying to piece what Minami had said together. From the expression on her face, Yankumi could bet that the poor girl hadn't understood how the boys were executing a game to win her affections.

"So let's begin reading! Ne, Davina-chan." Yankumi chimed brightly, grabbing her study book and flipping it open as though the last ten minutes hadn't occurred.

Davina and Yankumi read an English short story about colorful caterpillar who ate a lot of fruit and turned into a beautiful butterfly. Yankumi never lifted her attention from the book, trying to mentally prepare her readings for when Davina finished reading hers out loud. Davina would occasionally glimpse over the book only to find more and more students dosing off into slumber. On the last page, Davina had already put her book down, counting how many were asleep, while Yankumi was cheerily reading, but mispronouncing, the last few sentences.

"The End-o!" She shut the book and set it into her lap. Her expression changed when she looked about her class and found most of them snoring. Taking a stack of papers, she went to their desks and beat them over the heads. "Wake up!"

Shin didn't budge when she smacked him with the papers so she shook him by the arms. "Sawada! Wake up!" He didn't move, still fast asleep. Davina was admittedly impressed. He was either a heavy sleeper or just didn't sleep enough at night. She wished to could take a nap too.

Davina leaned against the desk and caught eye of her bag, feeling the urgency of her day nag within. That's right...her shoes... She didn't want to just whip out her ballet shoes and start the loud process of breaking them in, but she decided that she could at least sew on the ribbons and the elastic. She could break them in on the way to ballet.

Yankumi was now referring to the story in the text book, asking for participation from her class on identifying different parts of the sentences. Davina kept her book open and followed along, but she had quietly taken out one pair of Pointe shoes, needle and thread, elastic, and ribbon.

Seeing the pink satin shoes in her lap gave the sleepy eyed Shin a flashback of handing Davina her Pointe shoes by the ocean. He watched her fold in the back of her shoes and set two fingers at the correct spot. She took a piece of ribbon and began sewing on them towards the middle of her slippers.

The boys throughout the room were also paying interest in the shoes. Ballet huh? Dancing on the tips of her toes; they all imagined the voluminous tutus and the fragile dancers who would wear them. It was something that couldn't be explained, but the soft grace that was associated with ballerinas made the boys even more curious about Davina. In the class and in their lives, it was the survival of the fittest. Yet, if they ever were to fall in love, could they ever cradle those delicate creatures with the softness they needed to be nourished with?

Davina was too frangible for him and his hands, Shin thought, turning his attention to Yankumi's chalkboard notes. Yankumi repeatedly told those who were doubtful that her 3-D class had their hearts in the right place, but that still didn't mean that Shin wouldn't shatter Davina like glass. He had already pushed her to tears once when his "heart was in the right place." Davina's trusting smile earlier was sincere, but he wondered how long her sincerity would last? Until the English midterm?

He suddenly remembered Kuma's question. " _Are you two friends?"_

The chalk on the board scrapped loudly along with Yankumi's explanation. Davina would quickly read Yankumi's work than thread on her ribbons and elastic bands with speedy muscle memory. Shin had in fact noticed Davina's slightly hesitant tone when he informed her about the tutoring over the phone by the Minato station. The girl was probably too busy and didn't care enough to keep up with people like him. Depending on her parents strictness and protectiveness over their daughter, they might not approve of such a friendship. _Trash_ like him and his friends would corrupt their sweet little daughter. Nice girls like her should hang out with nice girls and date nice guys.

To answer Kuma's question, no, they were not friends. Or at least they would act like it until their resources were all consumed on both ends.

Davina cut the thread and gently tugged on the ribbons to assess their security and support. She caught Shin's unwavering stare and genuinely smiled at his bored face. Switching her shoes, she cut more ribbon and thread and measured where to sew them.

Regardless, Shin thought, no matter when she personally decided she was through with him, he would at least be there to protect her. Every inch of him was certain that she would always at least let him have that.

* * *

 


	5. Stolen Hat

It was nearing six in the evening when Yankumi finally dismissed the 3-D class for the day. Her students all took in a simultaneous breath of air and erupted into a cacophony of conversation. The teacher sighed a huge breath of exhaustion heard only by her own ears. Pulling in overtime for her already tiring class would make her sleep like a baby tonight, she thought as she rubbed her eyelids and temples. Somehow, she would have to muster enough brain power to conjure up another study review the tutoring session tomorrow, in addition to preparing her own midterms and study material for her _own_ exam. Yawning, she knew the task ahead of her wouldn't be finished easily.

To her right, sitting back straight in a chair, was the little redheaded teenage girl who Sawada apparently brought with him to help with English. Though, Dabina was it(?) had introduced many insightful readings and answers, her presence cost Yankumi a lot of time and energy, most of which had been spent on shooing off the boys' advances and flirtations. She wished she could have used the wasted time more productively.

Yankumi collected her books into her sack while noticing Davina scribble fast notes onto her little pad. The girl had been consistent in writing notes through out the tutoring session. Yankumi put her papers into her already back-breaking bag. She had asked herself through the lesson what Davina had been furiously scribbling about-

"Sensei?" Called a soft voice in front.

Only one young person ever called her _teacher._ Yankumi set a stack of papers down and lifted her head at the shy Davina _._

The two women stared at each other with mutual expressions of worn and understanding that despite their exhaustion, their day needed to continue on.

Davina tore two sheets from her notepad and handed them folded in half to Yankumi. "I hope you find these useful." She uttered timidly, biting her bottom lip.

After unfolding the paper halves, Yankumi scanned the notes and found a class list with the entire roster's names and next to them were English comments that she supposed were translated into Japanese. Written in rudimentary Japanese were their individual strengths and weaknesses. Everyone had several helpful comments, except, of course, for Sawada. Next to his name were three Japanese characters. Dai-jou-bu. _He's alright._

Yankumi placed her hand with the notes still curled in her fingers down to see Davina duck her head due to nerves. Yankumi was now more curious than ever about how Sawada met Davina and more importantly, how they communicated. "Arigatou, Dabina-chan." Yankumi thanked her, inspiring Davina to smile back, slightly calmed from her shyness as she let her tense shoulders relax.

The teacher smiled in response, officially charmed by the girl. She let Davina return to putting away her things but watched in bitter annoyance as her class exited the room slowly in a single file line, grinning foolishly to themselves, making sure to get at least a few seconds of eye contact with Davina's green set. Their conversations would each take an abrupt three second pause, just so the speaker could partake in his time to eye-gaze with Davina.

Yankumi eventually tiredly shrugged, recalling her shouting lecture about respecting women but apparently her words hadn't sunk into their caveman skulls. As for their eye-gazing-mating-rituals, she figured they could be doing _so_ much worse... She unconsciously flinched and panned her neck to the corner to mumble to herself, "I don't even want to imagine how much worse."

She was glad that Davina acknowledged each boy that passed by. The girl was thankfully amused by their antics, instead of being offended or worse, frightened away. Yankumi had been worried when she first realized that a teenage girl was in her classroom but she had survived an entire tutoring session with 3-D. A time period that beat the rest of the school's faculty by a long shot. Yankumi smirked to herself and crossed her arms in thought; if only Davina could comprehend what an accomplishment that had been.

Davina had been slow in packing her bag on purpose. Checking his desk often, she wanted to see what Shin was planning to do. Was he going to leave her now in the classroom and go home? Or would he at least walk her to the station? She was kind of hoping that...

"Aren't you coming?" Muttered Shin's voice from across the room.

Her dance bag zipper tightened with a rattling **zziiiiip** then Davina noticed, in surprise that Shin had changed from dosing off at his desk to leaning by the backdoor exit, as conscious, casual, and bored as can be. This boy is too fast for me, Davina thought humorously to herself.

Davina crossed by Shin's friends. In her notes, she had identified them as the "blondie, copper-head, scarf-boy, and bear." The four of them eyed her swiftly as she passed their desks. She climbed the stairs and met Shin's droopy eyes with hers. He swung the door open and they exited together.

* * *

"Are they coming too?" Davina asked Shin, nudging him to look over his shoulder. Following close behind were Uchi, Minami, Kuma, Noda and Yankumi. Shin simply shrugged his shoulders.

Was it normal for Shin and his friends to have their teacher join them? Davina pondered to herself.

As they headed towards the gate, Davina felt the attention of the surrounding groups of students centering on her, Shin, and Shin's friends. It was hours after the final bell of the school day so everyone still hanging around were familiar faces from Yankumi's tutoring session. However, their friendly expressions that they had used in the classroom were now mixed with curious caution. Were their cautious faces fixed on Shin?

Davina peered up at Shin, walking only a foot away from him. Shin was definitely different from the rest of his class, even his close friends. That had been fairly obvious, even if she had been with them all for barely two hours. When Davina first met Shin in Minato, she figured his quietness was specific to strangers but his reserved behavior was routinely normal for him. Everyone in 3-D seemed to silently respect Shin by providing him his space. She continued to wonder about Shin, many things, his school, his outlook by his classmates, his personality, didn't seem to fit about him. As far as Davina was concerned, respect had to be rightfully and sometimes harshly earned. What did that mean about Shin?

" _What is it?_ " Shin muttered over Davina's ear. Davina took in a deep breath, and ran her hands through her hair. When had a couple of feet in distance turn into a mere few inches of space?

She tried to find the words but they were spilling from the tip of her tongue. "It's just...3-D and you."

Shin tilted his head up in the direction of Davina's attentive stare. His classmates looked back at him. "They're just confused."

The classmates she had been watching earlier all at that specific moment relaxed and returned to their vivacious conversations as though they hadn't been staring at Shin and her. "Confused about...what?" Davina asked.

"As to why you and I are associated with each other." He answered quickly with a sigh.

Davina occupied herself with smoothing out her dress so she wouldn't met Shin's eye-brow cocked glance. Why did it need to be culturally considered as weird for her to be on social terms with a Japanese boy?! Would 3-D treat her any differently if she were black-haired, brown-eyed, and Japanese?

Her eyes betrayed her and Shin and Davina managed catch each others eyes for a brief moment until Yankumi, Uchi, Minami, and Kuma were immersed into their group.

"Associated with who?" Minami piped in next to them.

Neither Davina nor Shin answered his innocent question. Davina said, instead, "my ballet class starts at seven and if I don't eat now I won't get a chance to until after later tonight. Anybody else hungry?"

Kuma rubbed his belly and nodded to Davina. "What does Dabina-chan crave?"

To be honest, Davina would have killed for some greasy American food but she knew of a noodle restaurant near her ballet studio that would be far more convenient concerning the circumstances. "How about some noodle bowls?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Yankumi chimed in, doing one of her many assuring hand gestures.

"Why are you with us?" Uchi glared at Yankumi harshly, bumming down her happy stance.

Yankumi dropped her arms to her side, losing some of her excitement but gained more of a professional composure. "While Dabina-chan is with us, English tutoring continues. Ne?"

The boys rolled their eyes at their teacher, all outwardly tired of studying English for the day.

Davina saw the large school name plastered on the banner. Her ability to read kanji was still weak but she was able to gather 'shiroi,' which meant white. So was it 'shiroi...,' no, it didn't have an 'i' after 'shiro' so it meant that the school had to have been named 'Shirokin.'

"Sensei?" Davina motioned for Yankumi's attention. She pointed to the large characters above them. "Shirokin?" She said, placing too much emphasis on the 'o.'

Yankumi nodded and smiled. "Correct, Dabina-chan."

Uchi, Minami, Noda, and Kuma all smirked at each other. That was most likely the first instance any of them had heard a teenage girl utter their school name without visible disgust. Perhaps, they all silently agreed with each other, that they would simply not mention to Davina the truer reputation of their school and allow her to stay ignorant about such details.

Noda still had his nose in his green English textbook and was studying his pronunciation as the group headed down to the train station. Davina was absentmindedly listening to the conversation generated by Uchi, Minami, Yankumi and Kuma. They were speaking too fast and too informalyl for her to keep up, except for a few short phrases here and there.

In her own Japanese class, the instructors spent more time on formal speech versus street talk for the reason that they "would pick it up from the streets." If they didn't _need_ speak with anyone informally then they wouldn't need to learn informal speech. Especially since a few Americans at her high school would continue on at Japanese university, more formal and business Japanese was more important. Or so the teachers told Davina and her class.

The approach was different from her previous experiences, but Davina didn't argue. In other schools she had attended, and she wished ASIJ also followed this curriculum, the language teachers placed equal amount of importance in all formalities of speech. They taught the students cultural associations, such how 'light blue' could mean 'gay,' as well as insults. One of her teachers notoriously said one day when one of her more sensitive students asked about her methods, "I simply teach to how to speak like the natives. And the natives use formal speech in formal environments, and street talk on the streets. If they didn't curse, I wouldn't teach you that."

"Excuse me? Dabina-chan?" Noda was suddenly next to Davina, holding his book open for her to examine. "Here, please." He pointed his finger next to an example problem listed under a pronunciation chart.

Davina took the book from him and read it out loud to herself, trying to walk and read at the same time. The question was asking for the reader to pick which of the options matched the vowel sound of the word. The word in question was 'Apple' and the two option words were 'hat' and 'saw.'

She read the problem and the options again then looked up at the anxious Noda. Hmmm...she thought the problem was a bit difficult...she was a native English speaker for goodness sake! She muttered the words to herself, trying over emphasis the vowels. "Aaaapple...haaaat...saaaaw."

Behind her, Yankumi, Kuma, Uchi, and Minami were following her example and also practicing along with her. Shin slightly tilted and glanced at them projecting obnoxious vowel sounds then shuddered away because they were being so _dorky_. He scuffled to himself, his lips curving into a half smile.

Davina stopped walking suddenly then spun around to declare her answer, causing everyone creeping close behind to stumble back like a wave. "The difference is in your throat." She tapped her neck in case they hadn't understood her. "Haaaaat is throaty and saaaw is voiced. Apple is also throaty so hat is the correct choice."

"Ah," all said as though they thought 'hat' to be the obvious answer as well. Davina licked her lips to force back a laugh then handed the textbook back to Noda.

Noda nodded in quiet thanks to Davina upon receiving his book then continued his studying to himself.

Davina remembered as he walked ahead of her what Shin had mentioned when he originally asked her to help tutor. "It's not for me, for a friend." Also with the way Yankumi had tussled his hair and grew ecstatic for his late entry into class, Davina decided that the person Shin wanted to help was Noda. With how determined he seemed to study, Davina had absolutely no doubts. All of this studying was for Noda.

As they all neared the train station, Davina checked the time. She sighed to herself. She would have to leave them early but she had enough time to catch a train to Shinjuku and order some food.

By the train station square, Davina heard a familiar language, causing her to intake a sharp breath. Russian, was it? No one else seemed to notice in her group but she stopped again in her tracks and absorbed the scene.

A group of Caucasians were standing in front of the train ticket sensors, waiting for their female friend who was trying, but failing to communicate with the ticket salesman. Judging by the woman's tense face and the ticket salesman's holding of a calculator to the window, Davina felt that she could try and pat the dust off her Russian skills.

"Is there something wrong?" Davina asked loudly in Russian to catch the attention of the woman.

The tense woman seemed to slightly calm down, glad to listen to hear familiar words. "I lost my ticket but he won't understand."

Davina moved in front of the speech holes then projected in Japanese to the man inside the booth, "she lost her ticket."

The man nodded his head. "I understood that but she needs to pay." He showed Davina his calculator that flashed '130'.

She understood now. "He is being fair." Davina said in Russian to the woman. "He wants you to pay for the minimum ticket price of ¥130 and then he'll let you leave."

The woman's woman fell open, trying to decided whether or not to argue the charge or to leave it alone. She was visibly upset to have to pay another fare but she at least simpered at Davina and accepted the situation. She took out her wallet from her traveler's bag. "Thank you." She quickly muttered.

Davina simpered back then left the booth, ignoring the prying eyes of Russian group. As she walked around them, one of the taller males asked after her, "are you Russian?"

"No," Davina said simply and left it at that. She had paused momentarily as though she were going to say more but she continued walking when no more words came out.

Davina rejoined her group that waited for her by the station's front entrance. She was thankful that they hadn't left without her. "Pardon me for that."

All six of them stared at her curiously, waiting for someone else to break the ice and ask the one question that was burning in their heads.

"Dabina-chan," Yankumi began, her voice high pitched with interest. "Can you speak other languages?"

Davina expected their questions but she admittedly had been hoping she wouldn't have to deal with them. To draw attention away from herself though, she tried to steer the group into the train station so maybe someone could change the subject. She pulled out her wallet to tap her rail pass onto the sensor.

The reason she knew Russian wasn't for any reason that they were expecting. She didn't know the language because she was Russian, because she wasn't Russian. She didn't know it because she lived in Russia, because she had never been there before. She also wasn't prepared to explain the real reason because that would only sprout more questions that again, Davina wasn't prepared to answer. "I only really know English."

_Liar._

She was lying and judging by the expression that Shin was giving her, he could tell that she wasn't being truthful. Shin knew she was an army brat and if she wondered if anyone were to ask if he would provide them with that information.

"What was that then?" Uchi asked, making Davina feeling surrounded against.

"That was just helping." She gave a tight lipped smile and left it at that. She knew none of them were satisfied with her answer, but she didn't care to be brutally honest. She didn't want to appear phony but the long day had winded her and long, filling explanations were not part of her deal with Shin.

Minami, Uchi, Noda, and Kuma blinked at each other then in unison turned to Shin. How long had Shin known Davina? Because no matter how long how short they had known each other, Shin already seemed to rub off on her. And if Davina always had such reserved characteristics, it explained why Shin hung out with her in the first place.

Thankfully changing the subject, Yankumi checked her watch then gasped in horror. She yelled about needing to catch her bus, being late, see you tomorrow, then zipped down the road like lightning, trying to board the bus that was just teeing away from the designated bus stop.

"Gosh, she's weird." Minami shook his head. The boys groaned in agreement then strolled onto the train platform, not waiting to see if Yankumi made it onto her bus.

As the train roared and slowed to a stop in front of them, Davina reached into her dance bag and pulled out her hard Russian shoes. While the boys held onto the slings on the bars for support, Davina waited by the doors, a slipper in each hand. When the announcer called for everyone to step away from the shutting doors, Davina held out her shoes as the two heavy doors closed. There was a slight breaking session from the shoe's glue as the doors smashed against the toe box in her ballet shoes.

The doors reopened and the announcer repeated his command for everyone to back away from the doors again. Davina softly squeezed the now dirty box in each of her shoes. "That's good enough."

"What are you doing?" Shin was suddenly standing at her side then simply took a shoe from her hand. He examined the shoe from both ends. "It's dirty now."

Davina groaned and took her shoe back. "I was breaking them in, thank you very much."

"It's odd. You have to break your shoes before you can use them." Shin muttered slyly, holding the metal bar above as the train began to brake for a stop.

Davina pouted at Shin then unzipped her bag on her right hip to put her shoes away. "Well that is why I dance and you don't Shin." The train halted to an abrupt stop, causing Davina's bag to swing away from her hip. The bag's weight ruined her balance; her body stumbled forward, pulled by her bag. Her hands didn't listen and failed to grab onto any of the metal poles near her. Nothing could stop her from slamming wrists first into the train floor but an arm wrapped around her and a hand clamped to her waist, stopping her fall.

Davina took in a breath of air, she hadn't realized she had stopped breathing. Her incited heart only grew more thrilled when it registered in her mind exactly who had holding her by the waist. She hoped he couldn't see how red her cheeks were at that moment.

"Ballerinas should have more balance." Shin's deep voice uttered over Davina's ear, sending shivers through her body. The areas he had touched burned even after he had let go of her. Shin moved to the center of train, next to his sullen friends.

"Of course!" Minami quibbled. "Only Shin would know of the precise moment he can grab the waist of a pretty girl without getting slapped."

"Don't be dumb." Shin snapped.

"Only Shin gets such chances." Uchi added glumly stretching his arms.

Davina let her hair fall over her cheeks as she could not, for the life of her, stop blushing. Calm down, Davina, she soothed herself. He is _just_ a boy. Her side still felt tingly the firmness from his arm and hand. She decided that she would allow herself to be a tiny bit flustered. No boy had ever held her like that. It immediately clicked that she was hanging out with an entire group of boys. Another thing she had never experienced. A wave of awkwardness fell over her, causing her discomfort to be standing so close to them.

The boys, though, hadn't seen Davina shy away and were still pestering Shin.

"I guess Shin isn't gay."

"I thought you weren't interested in girls."

"What are your tricks Shin? Where can we find one like her?"

"Was it nice? To hold a girl by the waist?"

"Go ahead and keep forgetting that Davina is standing a meter away." Shin finally said. "If you think that a girl hurting herself is a good excuse to grope her then you have other issues."

They didn't seem to get the message.

"I bet it was nice."

"Shin always thinks we're so serious about everything we say."

They nodded to each other, leaving Shin to officially zone out of the conversation. He slouched into his seat and the sun behind them created a shadow over his face.

Davina meanwhile was still trying to comprehend the rush of emotions that was coiling in her blood. The butterflies were swirling so fast in her stomach that she lost all appetite to eat. Her heart intensely pounded in her chest. She didn't dare look straight at Shin but from the corner of her eye, Shin was placidly resting. Davina finally glared at him, bitterly. How could he be so cool all the time? Was he not at all bothered by catching her before she fell? Did she also owe him for helping her again? She thought sardonically.

The train arrived at their stop in Shinjuku. Davina stuck close to the boys as they crowded around the doors to leave. Of course, Shin was huddled up close to Davina as he was the one in the group who was associated with her. Was that the reason why he remained close in distance to her? She inhaled a deep breath to relax her anxiety and stop her stupid girly analysis. She wasn't used to such agitation of feelings but the only way she knew how to control it was through repression. She had a crucial ballet audition to worry about. She would force herself to eat soon otherwise she would be weak at her ballet lesson.

Davina peered up at Shin as they climbed the stairs up the platform. His eyelids drooped tiredly, his posture was slouched, hands shoved in his pockets. Occasionally, he would yawn. Davina sighed and looked away. He really is indifferent, she thought, her heart sinking. Her presence didn't appear to have any compromising effect on him. She perhaps didn't mean much to Shin. Would his tolerance of her lasting only until the tutoring sessions ended? She'd be smart to not have any emotional investments in someone so apathetic.

It's better this way, she declared to herself as rays of sun warmed her skin. Shinjuku was alive with neon lights, traffic, and massive crowds. They all left the train crowds and stood at the cross walk, waiting for the pedestrian signal to cross.

Davina was content with keeping her internal butterflies repressed and silent. She had more important things to focus on and after the tutoring sessions, she would be able to fix her focus on her goals and dreams. Nothing was going to stand in her way.

* * *

Davina checked the clock every so often, trying to perfectly time to the second when she needed to leave the restaurant and run to the ballet studio.

Luckily, her appetite had returned so she ate her noodle bowl while the boys were edged close to the window, admiring the view.

"Ah! Those are girls from Momoyuri high school! Look Noda!" Kuma hollered, nudging his friend eagerly with an elbow.

Noda didn't bulge, he shook away from Kuma's touch, causing Kuma to make a face.

"Leave him be, he has Shizuka." Uchi slapped Kuma's shoulder.

"Uchi, any lady's man wouldn't waste his time with the options that are several stories away. He would focus what is only tables away." He waved a hand to a group of high school girls, wearing navy-blue and pale red uniforms, dining a few tables from theirs.

Salivating like Ivan Pavlov's dog, Davina laughed to herself as Uchi, Kuma, and Minami stared hungrily and embarrassingly at the teenage girls.

"I'm going." Uchi stood from the booth, smoothing out his hair. This was enough to spark motivation for Kuma and Minami to join Uchi in the persuit.

Minami yanked Noda's shirt before he could protest. "There are _four_ girls. If only three of us go, it's weird." Noda groaned about leaving him alone and dragging Shin along instead.

"Shin has Dabina-chan. You're coming regardless!" Kuma, Uchi, Minami, and Noda all headed to the girls' table, trying to pull off being suave.

Shin watched them introduce themselves to the girls then turned away. "They'll hit on a girl then hit on more girl's in front of her. They'll still probably try to get your number tomorrow." He mumbled under his breath.

Davina leaned forward. "Huh?" She hadn't fully heard nor understood Shin's comment. He left her question unanswered and slurped more noodles into his mouth.

Davina keep her vision on her bowl but from what she could hear, the girls weren't buying their act and the boys were getting desperate. If they were to come back, she should tell them that girls, of any nationality, did not find desperation attractive.

A few minutes were remaining from Davina's set time to leave. She would need to pay and then leave. Staring at the four corners of the booth, something caught her attention. Why were there only three bowls of food for six people? Were some of the boys sharing a bowl?! The bowls were big, yes, but they were _boys_ for goodness sake! Kuma was close to ordering seconds but he showed hesitance. Were they sharing because she had taken to them a slightly pricey restaurant in an expensive district? Davina looked done at her half finished bowl of food, suddenly too full for another bite.

The boys were returning now, whining about their bitter defeat, however reassuring themselves that _those_ girls were too stuck up.

"Kuma?" Davina interrupted. "Do you want my meat?" She shoved her bowl to his side of the booth.

Kuma's shaky hands graced along on the bowl, his mind gone from just being rejected, his eyes wide with utter surprise. He was speechless.

"You have no idea of what you've done." Shin muttered.

Kuma actually _bowed_ his head and formally thanked Davina as if it came from the bottom of his heart. "Arigatou gozaimashita."

Minami, Uchi, and Noda also shared Davina's jaw-dropping surprise. Kuma gleefully smiled and dipped his chopsticks into the bowl. He hummed as though he were enjoying music, he stared onto the distant wall with a glimmer in his eyes.

Uchi stretched his arms then ran a hand through his blond hair. "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"I have never seen someone so happy to receive a half empty bowl of food." Davina whispered to herself, thumbing the wooden booth.

The time ticked on a wall ahead, blaring at Davina that she was several minutes late to be leaving the restaurant. She gasped hectically and practically jumped from her seat in the booth. "Excuse me!" She almost ripped open her bag, fishing for her wallet.. Pulling out the leather wallet, she filed out several bills from the fold and placed the wad of money in the center of the table. "I think that should cover everything. I'll see you all tomorrow!" She paused in her place again, biting her lip, almost about to say more but thanks to her language block, she eventually grunted in frustration then fled the restaurant by hopping and jogging down the escalators.

When the last strand of red hair disappeared down the floor, Shin took the pile of money from the table. He separated her meal portion, returned it to the table then pocketed the rest, intending on returning Davina her change. The rest of the boys didn't say anything, not having any doubts that Shin would probably see Davina later that day and return the money to her.

Shin had known when Davina offered her food to Kuma was when she realized that bowls of food in that particular restaurant was considered expensive to his friends. He hadn't looked in her direction once, but he knew when her guilt had set in after she counted the bowls. The boys weren't going to hold a grudge against Davina for trying to appease her guilt by paying for their meals, however, even for her sake, they would not, under any condition, accept pity.

"Was it just me," Uchi began, gathering the attention of his friends. "Or was I not imagining the flat-out stares we got because of— " He left his sentence unfinished but with a hand floating above his head he shaped out Davina's up-do in the air.

"No, her and me got the same gawks the last time we were out together." Shin rested his head on a fist balance on the table, referring to the ramen-ya he had taken her after her being attacked.

Silence hovered their booth, draining virtually all thrills and cheeriness, leaving their expressions to be thoughtful and absentminded.

"Hey, is that why you're gonna walk with her again later tonight, Shin?" Kuma asked unblinkingly at Shin with concern.

Shin hadn't told his friends that he had been walking her home since he had thought about her again, but friends had picked up on it. Perhaps with how he kept close to her and how he had noted every single gaping stare, no matter how innocent. Davina, on the other hand, hadn't seem to notice how much Shin had paid such close focus to their surroundings.

Without words, precisely the same thoughts and worries fluctuated throughout the table. They were all well aware that there were some real sickos out there who wouldn't be content with just noticing from afar. Shin still hadn't told any of them how he had met Davina, how his first sight of her was her cowering to herself with a dark hat covering her long red hair. All of which was to prevent the very thing they were all thinking and worried about. Kuma, Noda, Minami, and Uchi were also anxious for Shin and didn't want for him to get mixed up in something nasty, especially so far from their district where they could come to rescue. It didn't seem right if in an emergency they had to _take the train_ versus purely running on adrenalin to find their friend.

Shin was surrounded by four serious faces. He opened his mouth slightly, took in a breath of air, then said, "yes, I'll walk her home again."

* * *

Davina adjusted a stubborn lock of hair under her hat. Her body was dealing with a stirring rush of emotions from the lack of knowing whether or not Shin would walk her home again and the numbness of being so damn tired.

It had been a brilliant idea to eat, she couldn't even begin to conceive how she would feel on those stairs in Minato if she hadn't eaten. However, due to detour to eat, she changed at lighting speed and ran to her respective spot on the barre with just seconds to spare before Madame arrived. Her classmates were all silently criticizing her for showing up out of breath for two sessions in a row. Well, they can just suck it. Madame had distinguished her for progress in her leg extension, something Davina had yet to stop smirking about.

"Why the smile?" Uttered Shin's voice.

"Oh!" Davina turned to her right and saw Shin on the top stair. She had to give up. How was Shin _always_ doing that?! She couldn't be that unobservant, surely...

"I did well in ballet today." Davina gave Shin a toothy smile. A quick flash in her memory of falling on the train and Shin's hand on her waist cracked her smile, forcing her to duck her head and pretend to be fixing her dress.

Oh, Davina, quit being dumb. Why couldn't she just let that incident go?

After the last three steps up, Shin walked away from the station in the usual road to the Hardy Barracks. As always, Shin's mind seemed busy so she expected little if any conversation.

On every walk Shin had had with Davina, he barely spoke with her. It made Davina question what satisfaction Shin got from strolling to the army base with her.

"I don't have ballet tomorrow." Davina spouted out randomly. The statement had been floating in her head for most of the day. She didn't have ballet in the studio on Wednesdays so he didn't want him to wait when she would never come.

Shin didn't verbally reply but judging by his sigh of breath, Davina decided he had at least heard her. It was like talking to a wall.

Davina sighed. "Look, Shin," She grabbed his arm to make him listen to her. "You don't have to watch everyone's stares as though their prying eyes are going to hurt us. I always wear my hat so it wouldn't be any different than the normal gaijin stare-down. You don't have to worry."

Shin stepped closer to her, causing Davina's already incited chest to pump and pound heartbeats in her ears. She was eye level with his shoulder; a scent came off him that smelled rather intoxicating to Davina. The butterflies were fluttering like mad in her stomach again. She wanted them to stop but her feet wouldn't step away from Shin.

His face was inches from hers, her eyes fixed on his lips. It didn't matter to Davina that they were in public, nothing around them mattered. She closed her eyes and waited for it. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hardly bare it.

After what seemed like an eternity, her hair was from released from her dark hat and her tresses fell upon her shoulders. Her eyes reopened just as Shin's hand fell back to his side, her hat clenched in his fingers.

"You're with me, you don't have to wear your hat to cover up your hair." His voice projected deeply and suddenly Davina could hear the surrounding crowds of people and traffic.

Her heart sunk, her head swimming in disappointment. She inhaled a deep breath and gulped, trying to ignore the embarrassment that punished her for her assumptions. "Thank you, Shin."

"Doushita?" Shin asked, seeing her discomfort. Did she feel exposed because he took her hat?

Davina flattened the frizzles in her hair, buying a few seconds to perfectly articulate her words. "Even with what has happened in the past, I feel fine with...someone to walk home with." She was going to say 'you' instead of 'someone,' but her gut twisted and swirled until she chose a more ambiguous word.

Shin had seen Davina bite her lip during her short pause. There was something she was holding back but he didn't want to probe about her reasons. Him and her weren't that close. Also, the weakness she had portrayed that she was disoriented and too tired to provide any insight. If it was important enough now, then he would have another chance to ask her in the future.

* * *

Davina staggered for the last mile with her military ID ready at hand. Normally she would have enjoyed Shin's quiet company but what she was feeling was just too weird. What she wouldn't give to run to the gates and say good bye to Shin, however, she still appreciated his insistence of walking with her. She concluded that the butterflies in her stomach would go away if she wasn't in such close proximity to Shin. By tomorrow, she would have had enough time to rethink and examine why her insides were so... _ugh._

Shin stretched his arms and yawned for what seemed to be the billionth time that night. He was yawning so much he was making her yawn too. She felt bad for Shin though, she didn't know how far away he lived, but she hoped he didn't need to walk too far.

"Tsukaremashita," Davina had just barely managed to say before she yawned again. _I'm so tired._

His response was another yawn.

The gate was in sight and Davina wanted nothing more then to shower and sleep on her comfy bed. She was already close to falling asleep standing up even while her legs were numb, heavy blocks. "So, I'll see you tomorrow."

Just as she was turning to officially return home, Shin stopped her. "Wait. I need to give you this."

He lifted his hand from his pocket and unfolded his fingers to reveal a large wad of yen.

Davina faced him with an expression of confusion. "Huh...why are you giving me money?"

"I'm not giving it to you, I'm returning it." Shin said simply.

Worry seeped in and Davina froze. She understood now, Shin was holding the money she had originally used to pay for their dinners.

Her vision fixed on the money in his hand. "Why?" She whispered.

"You felt guilty after you counted the bowls. They walked in there knowing they wouldn't be able to afford a bowl for themselves but they went in there for you. Your attempt to appease that guilt came off as rude to them. They don't accept pity." Shin then straightened his arm, beckoning for Davina to take the money. Ducking her head, unable to met his gaze, she held out an empty hand. The money touched her palm and from under her eyelids, she saw Shin return his hand back into his pocket.

"See you." Shin turned and left her to walk up to the gate.

Davina lifted her head in time to catch a glimpse of his poker face. His one expression that never failed him. She squeezed the money in her hand unconsciously, too angry and sad to relax peacefully now. She didn't want to see him or any of 3-D tomorrow and evident by the money in her hand, their first impression of her was probably marred and ruined far beyond worth saving.

Shin brisked away, knowing of her stabbing stare into his back. He normally would have walked her to the gate, but he saw his chance to return the money and took it. He had perhaps been a little harsh with his words, but he had been one-hundred percent honest. Shin could tell by her composure that she was upset so he left her early to give her some space. He had essentially forced his way into her life, walking home with her, taking up her time after school, like Yankumi had done with him and the rest of 3-D when she first arrived. He remembered being dead set against Yankumi barging in and making herself a large part in his life. He fully expected Davina to be somewhat annoyed with him. Shin had to remind himself that his involvement in Davina's life would only be temporary and for Noda's and Fujiyama's sake.

When the Hardy Barracks was out of sight, Shin stopped and turned back. He fingered the shapeless black hat stuffed into his blazer pocket. He heavily considered going back and if she were still there, he would explain. However, it had already been a few minutes since he had left her. Davina was most likely already back in her respective place of stay and probably was too upset to come back and see him. Not that he could trust the guards always glaring at him to allow him to see her.

He decided it was only fair that he fully explain to Davina, when he saw her again tomorrow, precisely why he sought out for her help.

Shin squeezed the black hat. He wasn't planning on giving it back to her any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major thanks to Fern for comments on the previous chapters :)


	6. Under an Umbrella

Regardless of how tired she was, Davina was so restless in her bed. A thunderstorm had formed unexpectedly to the south of the Kanto region and was circling through the city after about three in the morning. In addition to the dozens of aggressions that were boiling within her, occasionally bursts of thunder kept her tossing and turning.

More than a dozen times during that thunderous and sleepless night, regardless of the hour, Davina wanted to send Shin—that bastard—a phone message calling the whole deal off. She had definitely been more of a distraction at the tutoring session than a valuable asset. The class was putting more effort into trying to ask her out instead of learning English for their exam. Shin's English was good enough, he could have taken her place, she bet.

In midst of her restlessness, she unwillingly put crucial thought to her reoccurring uneasy stomach. She remembered with embarrassment the moments when the butterflies were fluttering painfully in her torso. The train, walking home... The fact that Davina hadn't lost control over herself was soothing though.

She objectively pondered the origin of those stupid butterflies. She had experienced similar anxiety when she had performed in her very first ballet recital as a kid and for at least three of her show auditions. Something was much different from then and now, she had thought, rubbing her forehead. Even on those occasions, Davina knew her goal and knew perfectly well that she had the skills to succeed.

" _My stomach feels weird, Ma." Young Davina rubbed her belly and gulped to her mother._

_Davina had been dressed in her fluffy, soft pink costume. Her light red hair was tied back into a circular bun on her head. She had walked hand in hand with her mother, trying to match her mother's long strides._

_Her mother smiled sweetly down at her. "Those are called butterflies, Davina. It's normal to feel a little nervous, but just remind yourself that you know your steps and that you know what to do."_

Davina's arm flapped limply to her pillow above her head as another low rumble of thunder clapped outside. There were no routine steps to this dance and this time Davina didn't know what to do. Her nerves then as a kid were meager in comparison to the agony she was presently facing. She furiously fluffed her flat pillow to provide more support for her neck.

There was still one forgotten factor in this butterfly business: Shin. Davina punched her pillow then pressed her face hard into the cushion until her ears were covered. She eventually relaxed her stiff body and lifted her head and instead pressed her chin on the pillow and stared at the wooden back of her bed.

Why were her current butterflies associated with Shin? When she had first met him, he was a perfect stranger and except for the fact he had yelled at her, she had been in total comfort. Back then she trusted him, but now she needed to stay on guard and not because of him, but because of herself. If she got too sensitive her feelings would get hurt.

Davina's vision on the wooden back unfocused and she yawned. Her body was dead tired, yet her mind was wide awake and not willing to shut up. It was nearing the end of the school year for her so finals were inevitably approaching. Since she heard the news of the Tokyo audition for SAB, she was pushing harder during her ballet classes and having longer practices at home. Meanwhile, tutoring 3-D was unexpectedly dropped on her and adding to her workload.

 _Stress_ was the perfect explanation for the nausea in her stomach lately. Why hadn't she fully considered that before? Lack of sleep and a busier schedule could lead to a coming of illness and nausea was perhaps one of the many symptoms she would soon be experiencing. And to define Shin's association with her stomach illness could be due to how Shin had been a reminder of the night she had been attacked and was the bringer of the tutoring and ultimately, more stress in her life. If she stopped seeing Shin, her stress would diminish to that of a level she had been accustomed to and her stomach illness would be gone. Simple as one, two, three.

Turning over to lie on her back, Davina was satisfied with her theory and was convinced it was the truth. She wouldn't quit the tutoring, _finish what you started, Davina_ , she imagined her father's deep voice projecting to her. She owed Shin and she was the one who offered herself to him.

After the following Monday, Davina promised that she would go back to doing what was important. Ballet was her first and should have been her only priority. The anger that had erupted within her from being misunderstood by Shin and his friends had ruined the happiness of being congratulated for her leg extension. She had been so happy before she saw Shin too!

The alarm clock blared the worst sound in the world. With a tight fist, Davina smacked the off button until the clock was tossed to the floor from her dresser. Another rushed night that led to a long, teeth-grinding day.

The sun didn't peak through her curtains like usual so she prayed to every holy deity in existence that she had made a mistake in setting the time the previous night. Davina picked up the clock next to her bed to check because _surely_ that did NOT feel like six hours worth of anything, let alone sleep.

Damn it.

Before allowing herself to miss her bed, she set her feet on the floor and replaced her alarm back to its correct place. Maybe a nice cold shower will do the trick...

* * *

"Davina! Hello?"

A hand waved in front of Davina's face, she jolted straight and tore away from the dream-like state she had fallen into. Her school lunch room was vivacious, fuller than normally because the rainy weather hadn't ceased since the previous night. She pulled her hair behind her ears and sighed. She must have been dosing off. Her two friends, Mira and Jayla were tilting their necks and narrowing their eyes at her in suspicion.

"Are you catching a cold, Davina?" Mira asked with concern.

"You've been seeming kind of spacey lately, is there something wrong?" Jayla stabbed her fork into her lunch.

Davina peered down at her own lunch. She had managed to smear and mix her peas into her potatoes, but she hadn't eaten any of it. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, but she was just too tired to scoop up any of it with a utensil. "With the storm I didn't rest well last night. Plus, I've been extremely busy."

Her friends were taking too much consideration and thought into her words as they kept looking at each other as if trying to decide by their eyebrows if Davina was lying or not.

"Busy with _what_?" Jayla turned to Davina, her suspicion staying strong.

Davina balanced her chin on her fist. "Tutoring English..." She replied absentmindedly.

Her friends' reactions were calmer and less questioning than she expected. "Oh, really? Are you being paid?"

"It's...volunteer stuff." Davina lied. "My dad got me into it."

The girls nodded their heads, finding probability in Davina's statement.

"Japanese kids are just now having midterms, right?" Mira said before taking another bite of food.

"So I hear, but summer vacation is next month for us. God, I can't wait. Do either of you have your summer plans finalized?" Jayla wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"For two weeks, my family and me are going to Alaska. I'm still unsure about the dates, but we're expecting to go in early July." Mira twirled her utensil in her hand.

"Sounds nice. As far as I know, I'm not leaving Japan unfortunately. I'm going to Nagoya to finally meet my great-grandfather. I'm kind of nervous about it though." Davina swirled her fork, eventually bringing food to her mouth.

Perhaps it was due to the rain but Davina seemed a bit...under the weather. Jayla's and Mira's summer excitement calmed, sensing Davina's unease. She had told them a bit about her family's history, particularly that she had a Japanese great-grandfather who was a WWII veteran.

"He is family though, Davina. How could he not love you?" Jayla patted Davina's shoulder with a loving expression that warmed away Davina's cold frown. A smile curved at Davina's lips, reassuring her friends that she was alright.

"Are you going to ask him about how he met your great-grandmother?" Mira asked.

The relationship between her great-grandfather and great-grandmother was a matter that Davina had had dozens of questions but never asked to avoid being rude. She had never met her _Sofu_ so her great- grandmother's testimony was all she had to go by. Davina remembered having her questions on the tip of her tongue. Her great-grandmother had been so concise and so vague about her life in Japan, but she showed such great pain to even lightly discuss the subject that Davina repressed her curiosity.

"Do you think the weather will clear up soon? I hope it's not the start of the rainy season, though I think it's still too early for that." Jayla grimaced at the thought. She had lived in Japan for a little over two years and she had confided to her newcomer friends that the worst season in Japan for her was the mid-year rainy monsoon. Typhoons didn't come to Tokyo often, but the southern storms sent wild rain and brutal winds north, leaving the island virtually sunless and unpleasant for two months.

The girls turned to the water-stained window depicting the low gray clouds that hung in the sky outside. Any traces of thunder and lighting were gone by morning, yet random pockets of rain would pour often enough to keep the regular outside-lunch-eaters inside. Luckily for Davina, it hadn't rained during her commute to school but she had carried her umbrella with her, just in case.

Davina sighed, remembering tutoring with Shin and 3-D, and looked away from the window to eat more of her now cold lunch. "I hope so."

* * *

As usual, much of 3-D's total class was missing from the classroom. However, much to everyone's jaw-dropping surprise, they were _studying._ One 3-C student believed he was going to get pummeled when a 3-D student had yanked him back by the shoulder. The 3-C student was tinier than the other student; he gulped to himself and braced himself for the upcoming impact. When no abrasions came to his face, he cautiously peeked an eye open.

"Hey, do you know the answer to this?" The 3-D student pointed to a question in his English textbook.

The frightened student's mouth slid open. "Huh...?"

The 3-D student grew impatient and huffed in annoyance. "What? Don't you speak? Do you know the answer to this?" He tapped a furious finger onto the page of his open textbook.

 _That_ sounded more like a 3-D student. The shaking boy read the question. He had heard rumors about Yamaguchi's class trying to keep Fujiyama by doing decent (by 3-D's standards) on their exams. 3-C's substitute was not the attractive, feminine poise of Fujiyama, but his entire class, upon learning of the promise between Headteacher and Yamaguchi, had grudgingly bid their farewells to the beautiful Fujiyama. There was no way that 3-D was going to achieve thirty pounds on their exams. However, if giving his best answer to the dimwit in front of him would help keep his teacher employed at Shirokin then the 3-C student would give it his all.

"Answer D." The 3-C student was sure of his answer even though, honestly, his class was no good at English. How could they possibly pay attention when there always a goddess in their homeroom? Interestingly enough, math was their best subject.

The 3-D student listened to his answer and didn't utter a thanks but was mumbling the explanation given in the textbook for the answer to himself. He walked by the 3-C student, reading out loud to himself down the hallway. The 3-C boy watched with a look of disbelief. He didn't want be too optimistic, but he had gained a glimmer of hope. He was suddenly thankful for Yamaguchi. She was little dorky, yes, but he only seen a few teachers that matched her passion.

The 3-C student straightened himself and began his way back to homeroom. His English, without tooting his horn, was one of the best in Fujiyama's class. He wanted Fujiyama to stay, so, until 3-D had their midterms, he would do his best.

* * *

It was technically her hour to teach math, but Yankumi had her nose in one of the English books Davina had sorted out for her. She was double checking her study guide to avoid the nitpicking of Shin and Davina. English wasn't her subject after all...

Headteacher and Washio-sensei were chattering _loudly_ near Yankumi's desk even though their work desks were further back in the room. "Kobayashi-sensei does not seem to be a good match. He works well as a babysitter for 3-C but pity the poor man if he has to ever teach 3-D."

Yankumi squeezed her pen and groaned to herself, trying to ignore Headteacher's annoying arrogance. He and his little sidekick were parading around as though he had already won. Headteacher was the sort of pricks she used to beat up in high school. She had never really harmed them, but she would make them eat their words, and some dirt as well.

After yet another exaggerated malicious laugh, Yankumi gathered her study materials, enough was enough. She loudly stacked her fresh copies of her study guides, stacking noisily again and again, making sure that Headteacher and Washio-sensei heard. Without excusing herself, Yankumi left the teacher's room and rushed back to 3-D.

Headteacher scuffed to himself and leaned back in his desk chair. One of these days, he would find a surefire way to sack Yamaguchi and the entire class of 3-D once and for all. The easiest part of his job though, he smirked deviously, was that 3-D was prone to trouble and they would eventually screw up enough to the point where his job would already be taken care of. He grinned with his tongue at his teeth. It was only a matter of time before that perfect day arrived.

* * *

Davina stuck a careful hand outside the cover of her umbrella. When no rain touched her palm, the arm carrying her umbrella swung down to her side. The gray clouds overhead were thick with the promise of more rain, making the sky darker than it should have been for a late afternoon. She folded her umbrella and packed it away into her bag.

The exhaustion she felt standing, waiting for Shin, was equal yet so different than what she had the previous day. After several tedious applications of concealer, she had finally given up, accepting the fact that the bags under her eyes were there for the long run. The humidity, meanwhile, was doing _wonders_ for her hair. No matter which shoulder she set her tresses on or how many times she comb her fingers through her locks, her hair felt sticky and heavy. Sighing, she reached into her bag and pulled out a white beret and covered her hair.

Davina stared on down both directions the road, taking in every single detail of both ways, determined not to let Shin catch her off guard for once. This time, she would see him walking to meet up with her and she would say "hello," to which Davina imagined Shin could say "hello" as well.

The ASIJ bus had already arrived at the designated stop post and picked up most of the students. Mira and Jayla were in that group of regulars. They both had given her their mutual squints of suspicion when Davina admitted that "one of her _students_ was coming to retrieve her."

"Are you sure?" Jayla asked, giving the impression that she sense that Davina was hiding something.

Truthfully, Shin walking with her was something Davina hadn't actually put any thought to, Shin actually hadn't told Davina that he was coming to accompany her to Shirokin again. Even though the honest answer to Jayla's question was "no," Davina didn't doubt for a second that Shin would come all the way just to stroll with her to his school. She flashed Mira and Jayla a reassuring smile and hurried them away so they could catch their bus.

Davina hadn't watched them get on the bus but when the bus drove off, Mira and Jayla were gone too.

She leaned against the metal gates of the school, right next to the proud sign that clearly read in English and Japanese, "American High School in Japan." Davina, while staring at the silver lettering of the sign, imagined what it might have been like if Mira and Jayla ever met Shin? What would have happened if her two friends ever met 3-D? Both of them spoke better Japanese than Davina so communicating wouldn't have been difficult. However, when she pictured the meeting...she decided that her two friends could be turned off by 3-D's persist flirtations, no matter how flattering they found it. Her two friends meeting Shin...they would have had a hard time understanding the premise of their friendship, relationship—no, _association—_ with each other. Hell, Davina couldn't understand herself.

Shin didn't trust her to walk home alone for goodness sake. Any other girl would consider that creepy and stalker-like, not that Davina didn't _not_ perceive it was those two things, but that was how it worked between her and Shin. She had, in fact, never bothered to argue his walking her home. She had also never found herself minding all that much—

Davina's hair fell in waves to her face. She gasped and jumped, her hand flying to the top of her head. Her hat was gone. She turned around and saw Shin, with his hand closed over her beret.

That _bastard_! Of course he teleports behind her in between the nine seconds she hadn't been paying attention.

The look she was threatening him with was one of death. Nonetheless, Shin figured he'd allow her to be upset with him. "You know you don't have to wear a hat to cover up your hair." He stuffed the white hat into his jacket pocket.

Davina groaned angrily to herself. At this rate, Shin was going to effectively steal all of her hats.

"Won't a simple 'hello' do just fine Shin?!" Davina crossed her arms but suddenly remembered her messy hair and frustratedly tried to smooth out the tresses.

Though he didn't show it on his face, Shin was slightly amused to watch Davina get so frantic over an article of clothing. Judging by how she had just snapped at him, Davina was still a bit touchy about his returning her money the prior night.

"Ya know," She began with a raised voice, still wearing a glared expression. "I might have worn that because it went with my outfit. A person can wear a hat for reasons other than insecurity. Don't ya know?!"

Davina's redundancy reminded him of Yankumi's dialectical switch from standard Japanese to Yakuza slang. Being yelled at by Davina, was almost just as funny as being yelled at by Yankumi. Shin smirked and chuckled to himself.

Davina's entire body stiffened, her eyes widened and both her jaw and arms dropped. She wouldn't, _couldn't_ allow herself to fully grasp what she was viewing. He was actually _laughing_ at her?! His smile reawakened the butterflies in her stomach, causing her cheeks to burn and her heart pound in her ears. Her legs grew fidgety and restless, no longer able to gaze at his smile and keep herself together, she turned and took furious strides down the street. "Aren't we going?!" She wailed without looking back. A sigh and few deep breaths slowly soothed away the hot flash in her cheeks and the pounding in ears. The butterflies continued to swirl, triggered by the uncontrolled replay of Shin's smile in her head.

Shin let Davina go on for a few paces ahead of him, just to let her cool off. He continued to smirk at her back, watching her arms fold over her chest then randomly fall back down to her sides. She brisked ahead, her steps long and fast enough so that he had to quicken beyond his usual walking speed. His fists closed inside his jacket pockets where he felt the soft material of Davina's white hat. He prepared a counter argument against her wearing a cotton hat _in the rain,_ but seeing the girl get feisty was just so funny. He hadn't meant to insult her by laughing but her annoyance from the day before might have inspired her stomping departure.

Too bad though, Shin thought. He had planned to use the walk up to Shirokin gakuen as a chance to explain to Davina about Noda and Fujiyama-sensei. He wouldn't dare approach Davina now, no, no. Telling Minami to give up on his girlfriend was easier than trying to talk to a woman when she was angry. He sighed, deciding that he would have to wait until later to give her the full details.

And maybe later he would make peace with her and return her hat.

* * *

Seeing 3-D's faces light up when Davina and Shin walked in was enough for Davina's foul mood to finally fade away. Shin had kept a safe three paces behind her the entire way there, her frigid aura had melted after the train ride, evident by how she looked back at him, checking to see if he was still with her.

3-D's unconditional happiness was contagious, causing a smile to pull at Davina lips. And to think, Davina reminded herself of her bitter thoughts from the morning, she had almost convinced herself to stop coming to 3-D's tutoring. Even Shin friends, Uchi, Minami, Noda, and Kuma, were content to see her. Memories from the previous night flashed in her head of dinner and Shin giving her the money. It appeared as though no bad feelings existed, however she decided to wait before she would let her guard down.

Yankumi's hand quivered at the chalkboard, surprised by Shin's and Davina's sudden appearance but visibly grateful. "Dozo." _Here you go._ She went to the podium and handed them each a copy of her mistake-proof study guide. She grinned to herself. There was no way, over her dead body, that either Shin or Davina would find a mistake on her mistake-proof study guide that she had checked over _at least_ one hundred times—

"Um...sensei?" Davina pointed to the English quote on the front page.

"Yes, Dabina-chan?" Yankumi walked in between Shin and Davina and looked on at Davina's copy of the study guide.

"This quote, 'make miracle' is grammatically incorrect, sensei." Davina never looked up from the page so she didn't see Yankumi's pout.

Yankumi gripped her own copy and brought it inches away from her glasses. She looked to Shin, who nodded. _Yes, it is incorrect._

The teacher's nostrils flared. Her mistake-proof study guide, which had been checked not only by her but everyone who lived in the Oedo house, was compromised by one _little_ glance at the front page by this foreign teenager. Yankumi knew she had no grounds to argue, Davina's check on English grammar was natural feeling, but she had worked so hard last night...

"But, I see what you did here. Pretending to make a mistake so the class could catch it. It's perfect for what we are learning!" Davina smiled as she circle around Yankumi and picked up a white piece of chalk and rewrote "make miracle."

Yankumi stood in her spot for a long moment, confused until she finally understood. Playing off her mistake, she enclosed her hands behind her back and tilted her head wistfully. "Ha! Of course that mistake was intentional! In life, when you boys grow up and speak with native English speakers, there isn't going to be a teacher hovering over you to point out the mistakes. You must learn these lessons now and become the best you can be!"

Her glasses glared proudly in the fluorescent lighting. 3-D merely shrug off Yankumi's _wisdom_ with blank expressions. Yankumi, however, was frozen by Shin's unwavering stare, shaking his head. She knew she hadn't fooled him.

Davina waited by the chalkboard, ready with a piece in hand, for Yankumi to finish her speech. The teacher sure loved to talk. Davina also hadn't fully understood what Yankumi had been preaching about.

"Boys—" Davina heard the metal grinding of desks scooting to the front and chuckled to herself—"what is wrong with this quote?"

Davina turned away from the green board and confirming what she had heard, the entire class had moved their desks closer, leaving Shin's lone desk in the back.

Shin strolled around the oval of desks and slouched into his seat. Obviously bored, he contented himself by staring blankly at the window planted over the lockers. Resting his chin in his left palm, his right fingertips tapped rhythmically on the side of his desk.

Davina sighed at the sight of Shin. He wasn't planning on being much help was he?

Several of the boys were flipping through their textbooks, trying to find the lesson about articles. Others were waving their pencils in front of their noses or scratching their heads. Murmurs of "ne...which is it?" were spread throughout the classroom.

The classroom creaked open. "Make A miracle." Called an unfamiliar voice from the door. Everyone craned their neck to see who have arrived.

There stood three other Shirokin students but none were from 3-D. The answer had come from the student standing in the middle as he seemed the most confident of the three, which wasn't saying much. The other two were practically hiding behind their middle bystander, obviously dragged unwillingly by their friend, assuming they were friends.

Whispers of "who are they?" scattered the room. Davina had appeared to be just as clueless as they were so they apparently weren't with her, thought the 3-D students.

"They're 3-C students." Said a 3-D student with a deep voice. "The one in the middle helped me with a question earlier."

There was a nod throughout the room. More murmurs were exchanged, Davina only heard slight hints of what was being said: "3-C? Fujiyama's class."

Yankumi peered from the 3-C students at the door a few feet away to her own students. "Is there something that you need?" Yankumi approached them, trying to warm up the atmosphere for the students, seeing their apprehension towards her 3-D class.

3-D's students fixed their eyes suspiciously on the three students as Yankumi led them into the classroom. The air grew tense and thick, regardless of Yankumi's kindness, so much so that even Davina noticed.

Davina knew very little about 3-D's affairs with the rest of the school, but judging by what she was seeing, there was obvious animosity with other classes.

The middle student was blind to the tension, however, he displayed a lowered head as if he were going to ask a favor. "Yamaguchi-sensei, we, representatives of class 3-C, ask to be of help to 3-D for their English exams. We are the best English speakers of our class. We wish for Fujiyama to stay at Shirokin. ONEGAISHIMASU!" He bowed sharply from the waist down at Yankumi then straightened. The student turned to the rest of 3-D, he gaze slowly roved over the class, the depth in his eyes showing his genuine sincerity, he then bowed once more. "ONEGAISHIMASU!"

The boy's two accomplices bowed as well in unison. "ONEGAISHIMASU!"

Davina rubbed and turned the chalk between her fingers. She caught Shin's eyes; he read her confusion, but she couldn't see through Shin's poker face his regret of not telling her about Fujiyama. She was able to gather, though, that he would do some explaining later on, if time and chance permitted.

Noda stood from his desk in silence, under everyone's watchful eyes. He walked up the 3-C students as all three of them straightened and waited. Noda, with an unmistakable expression of guilt, lowered his head. Eying the three of them, establishing their willingness to help, Noda eventually lifted an awkward arm and patted the middle student on the back, cutting the tension.

Yankumi's eyes glimmered behind her glasses as if she were about bawl. It was unfathomable that 3-C had come on their own accord to offer their help and her class was willing to accept them. "Everyone, let's do our best! Dabina-chan, please continue, ne?"

Davina's head piped up, originally focused on the display in the middle of the room. "Oh, yes, sensei." She rewrote the quote in chalk as it should have been: make a miracle!

Perhaps it hadn't registered before to the 3-C boys that there was a redheaded teenage girl in the room, however their oblivion was ruined fairly quickly and obviously when they all stiffened then all walked up next to her to introduce themselves. They were all muttering in Japanese, "gaijin...gaijin...what do we say?"

"What do we say?!"

"Idiot! We speak perfectly good English!"

"Then you go first!"

The middle student glared at his two friends to quiet down. Davina's face twitched; when were people going to finally accept the fact that she had decent fluency in Japanese and could understand when they were generally spattering about as if she weren't there? Decent fluency might have been pushing it, but she definitely could understand " _foreigner...foreigner!_ " being stammered over and over again.

The middle student cleared his throat. "I...my name is Tsuchida, Tatsuya." He said in accented English with a bow. Sweat dripped down his temple, so much for being the best English speaker in his class...

It had been months after her move to Japan and Davina was still uneasy about bowing and would occasionally forget that people just didn't shake hands here.

Davina gave a courteous smile, "my name is Davina Summons. Nice to meet you."

Tsuchida-san held out his right hand for Davina to shake. At first Davina was slow, due to having adjusted to the lack of handshaking, but eventually blushed from not returning the gesture. She stuck out her hand and shook his strongly.

3-D, judging by their narrowed eyes and suspicious whispers, seemed to perceive her blushing and handshaking as flirting.

"Hey, 3-C," hissed an intimidating student, sitting near Minami. Tsuchida-san lowered his hand and the other two boys turned their heads in the same direction. "Back off of Dabina-chan! She's ours!"

The student received nods of approval and a pat on the shoulder from his fellow classmates. "Couldn't have said it better myself!" Added another student, his narrowed eyes still glued to the trio in the front of the classroom.

 _Oh my god_. Davina groaned to herself. Meanwhile, Yankumi sighed to herself, so much for peace between the two classes. Over a girl.

Before her class could get too incited and start hooting roars induced by testosterone, Yankumi pushed the 3-C boys aside, "please continue, ne, Dabina-chan?"

Davina eagerly agreed and frantically flipped the page of her study guide. Yankumi took the left half of the board and together, Davina and Yankumi wrote the rules of more in depth English word order and articles.

The 3-C boys were left to awkwardly stand by the door, huddled together like a pack of penguins. Tsuchida-san listened and absorbed the lesson, actually following along. His two friends however, were scanning the threatening faces from most of the 3-D class. Both of them had completely forgotten exactly how and why Tsuchida had coaxed them to do this.

" _For Fujiyama!_ " The three of them had shouted together after the final bell had rung, before they had left for Yamaguchi's homeroom.

As much as the boys wanted to keep the foxy Fujiyama as their homeroom teacher, they hadn't wished to place their lives on the line by tutoring dimwits. They hadn't even uttered their names yet and already 3-D wanted to put them through a world of pain.

"And be sure NOT to insult them. Not one of them, because they are a pack, they stand up for each other. Not even sarcastically or in jest or they WILL kick our asses." Tsuchida had warned them both before the entering the classroom, during their dreading trip down the hall.

The two boys shared mutual expressions of horror. Again, how had Tsuchida convinced them to do this?

"Boys?" Yankumi said suddenly, slapping the chalk from her hands. "Get comfortable, and don't be afraid to speak up, alright?" She smiled warmly before twisting around to face her class. "The second sheet in the study guide is for individual work. Davina and I will circle around and help those who ask. And our _friends_ from 3-C will also provide you with help. Do your best."

With another glance at the maliciously eager faces of 3-D, the 3-C boys gulped and gave strained nods to Yankumi.

Yankumi enclosed her hands behind her back again and slowly tiptoed to next to Davina. Still facing the 3-C students, she whispered to Davina's ear, "Dabina-chan, I'm going to hover around and make sure nothing starts up with these boys. You and Shin got this right?"

Davina peered over Yankumi to Shin. All the way from across the classroom, Shin stared back at her for a brief moment then sighed at the window as though he was aware of the agreement she was making with Yankumi. "Yes, sensei. We'll take care of it." Davina replied, tucking a lock of hair to her ear.

Looking in the general direction, Davina saw Uchi's arm rise up and waved. "Da-BI-na-chan! I have a question!" Uchi grinned and winked at her.

Davina chuckled to herself and set her piece of chalk down to retrieve her study guide. Yankumi sighed to herself, wishing she could do more to make sure the boys would take Davina seriously. However, the girl had agreed that she would be fine while Yankumi watched over the 3-C boys. Kawashima-sensei wouldn't be in the infirmary to wrap any injuries if any were to occur.

Uchi leaned his back towards Shin, who was laying his head down to sleep. "Shin!" He wrapped his arms around his desk chair while Shin slowly lifted his head from his arms.

Shin blinked droopy eyes at Uchi. "What?" Shin groaned in response.

"I study English at night and I have so many questions. You should give me Dabina's number." Uchi flashed his teeth eagerly at Shin.

Shin squinted his eyes at him and yawned. "If you had questions about English, you should have called me."

Uchi withdrew, his eyes trailing the ground, trying to find a decent comeback. He hadn't expected Shin to be willing to release Davina's number but he at least figured Shin would have yelled "shut up."

Minami, however, jumped in. "Shin doesn't have feminine grace, nor does his hair smell as nice." Minami, Uchi, and Kuma laughed together, leaving Shin to roll his eyes at the window and bend over to take a nap.

Davina knocked on Uchi's desk to acquire his attention. "Yes, Uchi?"

Uchi twisted back slowly, trying to be macho by showing off his chest by folding his arms behind his head and fixing his collar. "I'm sorry, Dabina-chan. I seem to have forgotten my question. But give me your number, I might remember later." He grabbed the handle of his guitar case. "Maybe I can play it for you sometime."

Davina pouted and cocked an eyebrow at him, eventually causing Uchi to bow his head and lower his arms with bashful uncertainty.

Kuma and Minami eyed each other, giggling behind tight lips. "Smooth, wiseguy, _smooth_." Minami playfully punched his blond friend's shoulder. "Even if you get the highest score on the exam, if she rejects you now, it's all void."

Uchi let out a hot puff of air. "I don't get how Shin managed to get a pretty girl's number."

"He didn't get my number, I _gave_ it to him." Davina smirked then left Shin's friends to answer another crying call of questions from the front of the room.

Behind her, Uchi, Minami, Kuma all wailed. "Ehhh?! How does Shin attract girls when all he does is sleep?!"

Davina sighed, recalling the night before, Shin handing her the money. Apparently, if his friends had a rough impression of her, it didn't stop them from hitting on her. She straightened the student's mix up of the articles fairly quickly, the most difficult part being able to simplify English rules in comprehensible Japanese. The student had been extremely patient with her and seemed to understand Davina's choppy explanation. To her left, Tsuchida was assisting a student however, the student was being a bit difficult and second guessing Tsuchida's answers.

"He knows what he is talking about." Davina stepped in, grabbing the student's book to confirm Tsuchida's answer. "The answer would be A, but B adds an 's' to the noun, which gives the sentence correct word order. The article 'the' is correct in both A and B though, so it is easy to confuse them."

The student surrendered his argument with Tsuchida, knowing his side wouldn't hold against Davina, the native speaker. He didn't say anything, just circled the answer and continued reading.

Davina and Tsuchida secured eye contact, sharing quick acknowledgment. It was the first insistence that Davina could see how much the tutoring sessions mattered, not only to the particular class of 3-D, but to other classes as well. Something was at sake and soon she would ask someone to explain.

There was a loud rush of students to the center of the classroom. One of the 3-C boys was being held by a 3-D student at the elbow. The 3-D student squeezed his English textbook with a strong expression on his face. Yankumi tried to wiggle through, worried about a fight breaking out between the 3-D boys versus the 3-C trio. "Let me through!" She shouted over the boys.

"I did it! I wrote the sentence right!" The 3-D student shook the 3-C student who had helped him in excitement. The 3-C student stood stiffly braced at the elbow, awkwardly patting the 3-D student on the back with a tight smile, trying to show his congratulations.

Yankumi stopped in her tracks, peeking from behind the shoulders of one of her students. Davina, who had been standing only a few desk away, hadn't noticed what was happening until the students in the rows next to her pushed their desks aside to the circle developing in the middle of the classroom. The redhead looked towards the back of the classroom to Shin. He had stood straight and alert from his desk, absorbing the situation, waiting to act.

Tsuchida slowly nodded his head to the 3-C student in the center, allowing the awkward student to relax. _He's not going to hurt you_. The 3-C student continued patting him on the back and muttered a swift but sincere, "good work."

As the classroom calmed back into their desks, Davina peered from Shin to Yankumi, remembering mutters of a name, Fujiyama was it? There was about an hour of tutoring left but she was anxious to find a free moment to ask her questions. Who is Fujiyama?!

* * *

"The weather is bad, ne?" The boys kept uttering, all glancing to the pattering window. Literally, the precise moment that Yankumi finally dismissed the classroom, rain began pouring. The teacher had grunted to herself. She had been hoping to leave before the rain had started again.

Tsuchida and the rest of the 3-C students regrouped, making sure all three of them had made it through. Tsuchida seemed cheery while his two friends appeared to be a little jittery but whole. "Can we do this again tomorrow?" Tsuchida said rhetorically, causing his friends to simper. True, they had made it out alive and the 3-D students seemed thankful, but they were still dead frightened of 3-D. Still, the class was doing this for _their_ homeroom teacher, something had to be good about them, right?

Davina waited until nearly half the classroom had cleared before sneaking up to Yankumi's podium. She watched the teacher pack away her books and stacks of papers before opening up with her planned conversation. "Sensei?"

"Yes, Dabina-chan?" Yankumi barely looked up, debating whether or not the umbrella she had brought with her to school would be enough or if she should take a taxi.

Davina bit her lip. "Sensei, if you need any help with getting the study guides put together or if you have any questions, I can give my cellphone number." She showed the teacher her cellphone, intent on offering her number.

Yankumi peered up, her mouth slipped open, 'oh.' The teacher searched through her purse to produce a pink cellphone, she flipped it open and turned on the info-red. Davina flipped hers open as well and matched the sensors of the two phones until a menu on both phones flashed that their numbers and information had swapped effectively.

"Arigatou, Dabina-chan." The teacher smiled and replaced her phone into her bag, believing that Davina needed nothing else.

"Excuse me...sensei?" Davina leaned in, lowering her voice, twiddling with her phone.

Yankumi suspiciously leaned, wondering why Davina was being so discreet. "Yes, Dabina-chan?"

Davina bit her lip and inhaled deeply. "Who...is Fujiyama?" Her voice dipped as she uttered the name.

Yankumi leaned back in surprise. "Dabina-chan! Hasn't Shin told you?" Why hadn't Shin explained the story to her? Yankumi stared at the pondering teenager, crossing her arms, trying to decide why hadn't Shin told Davina and how she could give the details to her. If there was a reason for Shin not to tell her, should she tell Davina? Didn't the girl have a right to know?

Speak of the devil, Shin slicked in next to the desk. He didn't appear to be mad or uneasy, simply Shin. He nudged Davina and began leading out to the back exit of the classroom. "Shall we go?"

Unbeknown to him, Davina rolled her eyes. She was still annoyed with him, a bit from the previous night and for stealing now _two_ of her hats.

Yankumi watched as the two teenagers exited the backdoor together. She slung her bag over her shoulder and prepared her umbrella. Whatever was going on between them was interesting and secretive. Glancing towards the rain-stained window to her left. The spattering of rain made her sigh...maybe she would take a taxi.

* * *

Davina unfolded her umbrella and held it over her head. She looked to her left at Shin, seeing him standing casually before she realized that the boy didn't have any rain protection.

"No umbrella or coat?" She asked him.

The rain was pouring quickly from the gray sky overhead, however Shin didn't seem phased. "I'll be fine."

Davina exhaled a deep breath, hating herself for what she was about to do. She lifted her umbrella so that it hung over her and him. "Share it?"

Shin inched in under the umbrella and both teenagers walked out onto the school grounds. The weird stomach feeling came back when Davina learned that she could barely walk next to him under the umbrella without brushing up against him. She gritted her teeth, it was just the stress, she reminded herself.

She turned away, watching students stroll with umbrellas and coats or dashing home with no cover. Behind them, Yankumi had seen Davina offer to share her umbrella and was gleaming. "Spring is the season for love, isn't it?"

"We don't know how Shin manages to get them." Kuma's voice uttered next to Yankumi. The teacher turned and saw Kuma, Uchi, Minami, and Noda ducking under their books.

"Do you think it's for his good looks?" Noda asked. All of them stared on as Davina and Shin turned around the gate.

"Does Shin attract a lot of girls?" Yankumi asked, tilting her head at the group.

"Girls like looking at him but he pays no mind to any of them. 'Not interested' he says." Minami replied.

"Girls usually stop pursuing him when they see how standoff-ish he is. That's why we drag him to parties with us. Shin draws them in, but our personalities keep them." Noda grinned.

"I wish I had girl to share an umbrella with." Uchi muttered and all his friends agreed. Yankumi saw the lonely expressions of her students and imagined them thinking about girls they had fallen for. Her eyes fell upon Noda, she knew he was worried about Fujiyama, Shizuka as he called her.

Even with Davina and Shin had gone around the corner, Yankumi wondered if Shin had planned on telling Davina what she need to know and if he would pay justice to the emotional significance of this situation, especially for one of best friends.

* * *

Davina's heart pattered excitedly in her chest each time Shin's arm brushed against hers. The scent that drove her insane the previous night was still intoxicating. It was so difficult to stand so close to him knowing the sort of effect his presence had on her.

After another unpleasant brush, she unconsciously peered up at Shin. The calm Shin peered down back at her, causing her to blush. She sighed, hoping the extra air would soothe away her nerves and get rid of the red in her face. Her fingertips lightly pressed against her cheeks. _What_ was her problem?

She had a few questions that she wasn't sure if she even dared to ask anymore. She wanted to know about Fujiyama and what Noda's connection was to that person. Also what Fujiyama and Noda had to do with thirty points on midterms and tutoring.

Down the row of trees and the paved path, there were no vendors out today. The overlapping of the branches provided plenty of cover against the rain, however, Davina kept the umbrella up above her and Shin. Except for a few groups of school kids and business men running home, the park was mostly empty. Davina was interested in Shin's demeanor. While everyone rushed by them for home, not even rain could hurry Shin towards their destination.

"Do you like the rain?" Davina uttered softly against the splattering of rain in the trees, watching her shoes splash in the puddles.

"It has its beauty, but you won't miss it after a few months of only rainy weather." Shin answered. Davina moved her hair over her shoulder, trying to avoid getting it wet. She imagined he was talking about the dreaded rainy season that Jayla had mentioned earlier that day.

They continued to walk under the trees. Davina eternally was fighting a sick stomach and the urges to ask about Fujiyama, Noda, and his friends. She bit her lip, trying to find the right way to jump into it.

Shin noticed how she chewed on her lip. "You remember Tsuchida and his friends from earlier?"

Davina looked up at Shin and nodded her head. "Yes, I do."

They reached the intersection, waiting for the crosswalk to give them right of way. They stayed a few feet away from the edge of the pavement to avoid getting soaked by puddles splashed by passing cars. The group of girls in front of them weren't so lucky or thoughtful.

Just before the lights changed, Shin continued, "they belong to class 3-C, their headteacher was Fujiyama sensei. You might have seen her already, she occasionally spies on our tutoring."

"Oh..." Davina voiced inaudibly. She hadn't noticed actually, or if she had seen her she hadn't paid any mind to her. "What does she look like?" She asked more clearly.

"She is beautiful. Short red-ish hair, tall, curvy. Most men find her attractive."

Davina nodded, now she was especially interested. She wanted to know what Shin found to be beautiful. She had felt a slight pang when he called the teacher beautiful but she sorted it out to be curiosity.

"Most of her students lust after her, winning her obedience from her class and even 3-D. Yankumi teaches math while Fujiyama's subject is English."

Davina listened intently as they stepped onto the pavement of the other street. That explained about the academic subject of the exams. "And Noda...?"

"Noda—" Shin began again, sharply. "Noda fell in love Fujiyama." Davina let out a small gasp, her mouth flying to her mouth. Shin peered down at her wide eyes. "To catch her attention, he studied hard and he purchased a present for her."

 _Awwww,_ Davina's cheeks turned red with excitement.

"However, he found out she had thrown his present away."

Davina gasped again, now mad and disgusted. Shin sighed, this girl might as well be watching one of those terrible TV dramas. If she kept gasping and interrupting him, he would never get to finish explaining. She however, caught his sigh and made note to quiet down her responses.

"Because he was upset, he took a photo of her working as a hostess in a club in Ginza and emailed it to the school. Yankumi was furious with him. She doubted his love, causing him to run away. It was looking as though Fujiyama was going to get sacked. Luckily, Yankumi made a deal with Headteacher that if everyone in 3-D earned at least thirty points on their upcoming English midterms, Fujiyama could keep her job, if she wished."

"You recalled the offer I had made a while back. And you thought you wouldn't need my number." She added.

"I called you after the first tutoring session, after seeing Noda's face on the walk home. Upon seeing 3-D's apprehension about getting thirty points, she set up after school study sessions. The first day it was only Uchi, Minami, Kuma and I. Noda begged every single student of 3-D to attend the tutoring sessions the night before you first came to class."

Shin allowed for Davina to absorb all the information as they entered the train station, which seemed a little bit busier than usual. Davina folded her umbrella and shook away the water as they strolled onto the platform for the Northbound train.

"No ballet today?" Shin asked as the roar of the incoming train drew in the crowds lining up along the edges of the platform.

"No ballet in the _studio._ I practice everyday. Why you ask?" Davina asked as she lined up behind Shin to board the train.

" _Betsu ni_." He answer. _Nothing._

No, no, not _betsu ni_. Was he going to ask her to hang out before he took her home? Butterflies were flying and darting every which direction in her torso. She was glad Shin was turned away, otherwise he would have seen her burning red in her cheeks. Her fingertips pressed against her cheekbones again. You know, flushed cheeks was usually a symptom of an upcoming illness...she reasoned with herself as she boarded the train.

* * *

" _Ano_ , Shin?" Davina eventually asked after what seemed forever. If her calculations were correct, she only had minutes to have Shin explain the last two remaining subjects on her mind before he left her at her home. "What is the classroom pact about getting the highest grade on the midterm?"

Shin sighed under the umbrella. He hadn't expected Davina to remember and or actually ask about it. "The classroom decided amongst themselves that whoever got the highest grade on the exam would be good enough to ask you out on a date."

Davina's jaw dropped. Really, now? "Hmmm..."

"Noda is most likely going to get the highest grade, however his heart belongs to Fujiyama. There was nothing in the original agreement in the classroom about the 'prize' being given to the next person if the first place person didn't accept the 'prize.' Which is why 3-D students intimidated the 3-C students to keep their flirtations away from you."

"What if you get the highest grade?" The words slipped from Davina's mouth before she could stop them. She bit hard into her lip, almost causing it to bleed.

Shin considered her statement, however he easily replied. "Don't we already hang out alone?"

True, Davina thought to herself. But there was a definite difference between a date and just walking her home. Davina shook her head. Why was she thinking such things? Did she actually hope for Shin to get the highest score and to go out on a date with him? _Please!_ As if!

"Are Kuma, Uchi, Minami, and Noda angry with what I did last night?" More words spewed from Davina's mouth, in Japanese no less.

Shin cocked an eyebrow at her. They had reached the gates of the Hardy Barracks. The two guards at the front glared at Shin, even though they were different from the usual night guards who had seen Shin before. "Why would they be angry?"

Davina reached her hand into her wallet for her military identification while watching Shin's expression. "B-because...because I left money on the table for all the meals. You said they found my gesture rude..."

"They hardly remembered what happened last night. If anything, Kuma loved you for giving him your leftovers. He and the rest of them proposed that you join us for dinner again, but only if they all pitch in for your meal."

Davina nearly dropped her wallet she was so dumbstruck. Shin had led her to believe that her first impression was ruined, however he had never really suggested that...damn it! She bit her lip, this time tearing the tissue and tasting some blood. _This_ misunderstanding was the reason why she couldn't sleep the night before?!

"You okay?" Shin must have seen Davina's obvious disgruntlement.

"I'm fine, just fine." She simpered, wishing to snap herself out of it. Since when had she let such meager things unwind her so? "Also, Shin, are you ever going to give me my hat back?" She recalled earlier when he stuffed her white hat into his blazer pocket.

"Why should I?"

Davina's mouth slid open as she managed to cross her arms while still holding the umbrella over them. She hadn't expected to be arguing with about her accessories and she definitely hadn't expected him to be so simple with his statements. "Because it is my hat! And so is the other one! Why won't you give them back?"

Shin did it again. He _smiled_ and _laughed._ Why was he laughing at her? Before she could ask, his expression dramatically changed from happy to serious. Davina held back her word, waiting for an action from him.

He stepped closer. They had technically been standing inches away from each other under an umbrella but he felt _too_ close now and suddenly the air between was so tight and uncomfortable that Davina could hardly breathe. His eyes grew intense drawing her to stare back. Her green set met his brown set. If she could look away she might have but no reason in her head was strong enough to push away her fixed gaze. One of his hands slid down her shoulder to her crown and his fingers ran through her red tresses. He raised his hand towards him so that every lock of hair slowly untangled and fell gently back to her chest. "This is why."

His voice rang in her ears and she drew in a harsh breath of air. Her torso pounded from her erratic pulse and her stomach was jittery from those _blasted_ butterflies. Her knees were now giving way and her balance was shaking. Her _balance_?! She was a ballerina for goodness sake! What was happening to her?!

"Davina...?"

"Huh?" Davina shook her head, now realizing she had been breathing heavily. "Yes, Shin?"

"It stopped raining..." Shin held a hand under the umbrella then carefully moved her fingers from the umbrella's handle. Her fingers were locked as if trying to savor the feeling his touch as Shin folded her umbrella and shook away the excess water. She glanced at the sky above and sure enough, no rain, in fact, it was almost sunny. She hadn't noticed at all, so she wondered exactly for how long had it stopped raining?

Shin handed the girl back her umbrella and strolled with her the remaining way to the gates. He ignored the threatening expressions of the guards as Davina showed them her military identification. She adjusted her bag strap on her shoulder to give her nervous fingers something to do while she turned around to say goodbye.

Shin shrugged his fists into his pockets, squeezing Davina's second hat in his palm. "See you tomorrow then?"

Davina nodded her head, "see you."

With one last glance, Shin twisted around and started for home. Davina meanwhile let her fingers grasp the locks of hair Shin's hands had felt as she watched him leave. Any and all foolish conclusions that Davina had made about her butterflies about Shin being nerves, illness, etc, all melted away. She wasn't _that_ dumb and inexperienced. She had watched many friends go through what she was now seeing for herself. And so she knew now that for the night, she would be doomed to dreaming about his smell, hands, fingers, and, lips.

Shin smiled to himself as he gazed at the sky, knowing it wasn't going to rain on him. He was relieved that with some patience, he was able to at least to smooth away any bad feelings being held against him for stealing her hats and returning her money. He should have realized though that Davina would have been worried about her impression with his friends. Crossing the intersection, his memory of his conversation with his friends flashed in his head.

"Keep her around, Shin." Noda had said after Shin mentioned the previous night that he was going to walk her home.

"Yeah, because even if none of us have a chance with her, she can at least give us advice on how to...you know, get more girlfriends." Uchi added, making all of his friends nod with him.

"She might have other friends who are girls as well." Minami chimed in.

"I rather like Davina's company. So, don't you scare her away!" Kuma finished between bites of noodles. All four of his friends give him serious expressions of 'screw this up and we will make you _suffer_.'

Shin didn't tell them that it was completely up to Davina whether or not she stayed in his or their lives. He had already forced his way in by asking for a favor. He then began to imagine what if Davina had rejected having him in her life. He would always provide protection for her but lately he was actually beginning to want to be closer friends with her. The language and cultural barrier was slowly diminishing, which meant that eventually the only thing between them being friends was their own internal inhibitions.

For now, his friends would be glad to know that because of his success that day, Shin was successfully warming up to her.


	7. Flirtatious Tsuchida

Dancing the night away was out of the question. She had already stretched her limbs past their ability to move. Her homework had taken an extra hour to finish since her mind kept getting distracted when she would daydream his hand in her hair. Her parents, in their few seconds of interaction, had noticed her glee.

" _Is something the matter, Davina?" Her mother had asked, letting her reading glasses slip down the bridge of her nose._

_Davina, who had been thinking warmly about Shin, stiffened as though she were caught doing something wrong. "No...why would you think that?"_

" _It's just...your cheeks suddenly grew flush. Are you getting sick, Davina?"_

_Davina's hand rushed her cheek. Seeing her mother's narrowed suspicion, she relaxed her posture and shrugged off her mother's worries. "No, probably just allergies or something due to the weather change."_

_Her mother readjusted her glasses, but had watched Davina until the teenage girl left for her room. Homework, she had said. Her mother hadn't necessarily bought her allergy answer; Davina had been acting a little strange lately, but normal enough that it wouldn't cause alarm. Exams? Summer? She would have asked, but if Davina was willing to tell her then she would had already done so. Sometimes that girl could be just a stubborn as her father. Perhaps, going to Nagoya to see her great grandfather would help get her mind off of whatever was bothering her. If Davina wouldn't come to her, then she, as her mother, would go and seek out what was up with her daughter lately._

Davina had been distracted at dinner, her stomach pattering with butterflies. She had excused herself from the table early to go work on homework. Twenty minutes worth of homework managed to take two hours. She would stare at her papers, trying as hard as she can to focus. She would clear her thoughts, reread the question, move her hair from her face, only to remember Shin's piercing gaze while his fingers were tangled in her hair.

She sighed and shut her eyes. This was getting ridiculous.

After her work was finished. Davina had tried to tire herself out by working on her dance movements. The audition requirements for S.A.B. weren't officially announced yet, but Davina was preparing bits of a routine to solidify by the time of the audition. With every leap, stretch, and pointe, her body was doing the movements, but her mind was clouded with memories of walking home with Shin, standing only a few inches away, and remembering how her heart pounded every time his arm touched against hers.

Smoothing the beads of sweat from her forehead, she had glared at herself in her mirror. The face was familiar, same structure, same eyes, same hair, but the shadows were different. Darkness drooped under her eyes and her cheeks were hallowed. Stress and lack of sleep, perhaps? S.A.B. wouldn't take her if she showed any signs of distraction at her audition. Many dancers who audition for S.A.B. had plenty of talent, but if her skin wasn't glowing and if her smile wasn't gleaming, what would it matter if she could leap high?

The butterflies hadn't tired at all. As she lay in bed, body wanting to sleep, her mind and butterflies grew excited from thinking Shin's face. Sleeping was as futile as homework.

Rain sprinkled against her window and Davina curled in her bed, allowing herself to smile. The excitement that she was feeling wasn't important, a little immature, she thought. Still, though, Davina couldn't believe that in such a short time, someone could protrude into her thoughts and life as though nothing else wasn't important.

It had taken a couple of weeks for Davina to finally stop thinking about Shin, that boy she had given her number to, after that fateful night. She had accepted the fact that she would never see him again and then out of no where, she got a phone call from him. In her wildest imagination, she never would have thought teaching English to group of high school students was the way Shin was going to pry his way into her life. His insistence of walking her home, simple, yet it changed so many things about her daily life in the span of a few days. Her thoughts were so different. Ballet, high school, and the future had to make way for a Japanese teenage boy with an undying poker face.

" _This is why_." His gaze had bore into her, stripping her of her pout when she had tried to demand her hat back from him. She had longed so desperately to be pulled into his embrace, wishing for his grasp on her waist like when he had caught her from falling on the train.

Davina quivered in her bed from the thought. She pulled the covers to her eyes almost as though she were afraid of someone seeing her excitement. Not even in the darkness of her room could she fully admit to herself that she had wished for him to be closer, for his hand to graze gently against her cheek, for his arms to be wrapped around her, for her head to lie on his chest so she could take in his scent. Why did that boy smell so good?

Heaving a loud breath to herself, Davina shut her eyes, trying again to sleep. Such desire was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Movies, books, and such depicted sexual desire and romantic want, yet Davina had always thought such things were controllable. When had she lost her rationality? Since when did she care about how a boy smelled? Why had he stroked her hair?! Did he not know what that gesture was doing to her sanity?! Would he even care?!

Davina's heart sunk and she was surprised. What did it matter to her what Shin thought of her?

" _She is beautiful._ "

She remembered the pang in her chest when Shin spoke of Fujiyama. His calling her beautiful caught Davina off guard. She wished she had seen his expression when he described Fujiyama sensei. Directly from his tone though, he didn't seem interested. Or at least, she hoped not...

Davina's eyes burned as they opened widely then immediately squinted at the digital clock on her stand. 1:05 in the morning. Why were her thoughts so consumed by this?! Her focus on her clock blurred and slowly her eyes shut. Memories of the sound of his laughter and the severity of his smile fueled the butterflies in her stomach and chest. Why him?  
  


* * *

 

_This is (a) pen._

It was plastered as clear as crystal on the wall in the staircase. And the worst part was that it was _correct!_

Headteacher was frantically tapping his foot, his eyes squinted at the chalk. He knew precisely which class was responsible for this marking on the wall. Why wasn't it written there?! Were they mocking him?! Delinquent brats! He could punish them for vandalism and that would eventually lead to expulsion. However, he could already hear the _annoying_ chime from Yamaguchi sensei, " _where's the proof?_ " Nails on a chalkboard sounded more pleasant than her incessant yapping.

I have a reputation to maintain, he thought about scolding to her. He was working hard to draw in students and he was doing all he could to make Shirokin the best it could be. If the students couldn't respect the school, they didn't have to attend there. If Yamaguchi sensei couldn't respect his will, then she didn't need to teach there.  
  


* * *

 

Davina sat across from her friends at their usual spot in the lunchroom, swirling her fork in her food while Jayla and Mira spoke animatedly to each other. Davina had originally followed along with their conversation but, like all things lately, she eventually grew unfocused, trying to sort out the butterflies.

"Davina?" Jayla snapped suddenly, causing Davina's hand to shake and fling food across her plate.

"Huh? Yeah?" Davina mumbled, blinking.

Her two friends eyed her strangely. "It's just...your cheeks grew red all of a sudden. Is something up? You've been seeming sort of distant lately..." Mira asked, setting her tray aside to rest her elbow on the table.

Davina smiled sincerely. "Nothing really, just a little overworked."

Mira turned to Jayla, not entirely sure of the truth in Davina's answer, but seeing the logic behind it, she shrugged.

Jayla, however, licked her lips and turned back to Davina. "So...who _was_ that yesterday who startled you after school?"

Davina froze, her fork hanging with food spilling back to her plate. She thought they had left that day with the buses. "Oh...that was nobody."

Mira shook her head with a wide grin. "Not true! Both Jayla and I saw you walking to the station with that 'nobody.' And that certain 'nobody' seemed comfortable enough with you to snatch your hat away."

The utensil finally slipped from Davina's grasp. How long had Jayla and Mira been watching? Davina inhaled a calming breath. "Shi—he is just a student from the English class, you remember the tutoring I had mentioned earlier?"

Both girls nodded at Davina, but the smirks hadn't left their faces. The overwhelming embarrassment fluttered in her chest, but she tried with all her might to not let any of her obvious discomfort show.

"Yes, but you didn't tell us you were tutoring students _our_ age. You made it sound like you were helping middle schoolers." Mira said.

Davina peered casually away from them, trying to loosen her stiffening body. "What's the difference?"

"Everything!" Jayla yelled excitedly. "He was definitely flirting with you, Davina. I didn't know you went for that type of guy. I had always thought you would go for a more...conventional person. Is that the right word? Conventional?"

Mira shrugged at Jayla's question, then turned to Davina. "Does Davina have a type? You said before you have never dated. Why not?"

Davina pulled her curtain of red hair to her ears and fiddled with her left earring. "Was just never interested in anyone." She was doing her best to stay cool and easily answer their questions. She hoped neither of them had seen her eyes widen at "flirting," while her stomach and chest were riddled with fast butterflies. However, Davina allowed herself to stay rational and think clearly about Shin's intentions. "You, two, are mistaken about him. He was just giving me a hard time."

Abruptly, her two friends' smiles disappeared. Jayla and Mira couldn't believe Davina's ignorance—or perhaps it was just naivete?—about the situation. Hadn't Davina seen the way the boy had smiled at her? After seeing them off, Jayla and Mira were too excited and too happy for their friend. Mira and Jayla, both, had experiences with crushes, liking, and boyfriends. Davina had not.

Both girls watched Davina as she nibbled on the last bits of her food. They were sympathetic, but determined to help guide Davina through this _confusing_ experience, whether she liked it or not. For all they knew, nothing might not develop between Davina and this boy, especially if one of the parties involved was clueless.

Mira lazily stood from her seat, yawning and stretching. "It's a nice day out, you two want to spend the rest of lunch outside?"  
  


* * *

 

By lunchtime, in room 3-C, everyone knew about the little redhead who had been recruited for helping 3-D achieve thirty points.

"Did you get a chance to talk to her?" Asked of the three boys' friends.

Akihito Miyake, one of the three boys, shook his head. "Nah, we barely introduced ourselves without death threats."

Miyake tilted his head to his friend, Kazuo Nakamura, both recalled the utter awkwardness and downright fear from the prior tutoring session. Miyake had soothed his nerves when one 3-D student held him by the elbow in excitement for getting the correct answer. At first, when the student first rose from his seat, Miyake had expected a square hit to the face. But, he had only received gratitude, something he hadn't expected a 3-D student to be capable of.

Nakamura scooped up a chunk of rice into his mouth. In between chews he said, "how they managed to find her is a mystery. _Sa..._ "

"What did she look like? Did she look like she belonged to any of them?" A boy with buzzed hair asked in the desk in front of them.

Nakamura placed his hand under his chin. "On the taller side...but that might have been because of her shoes, long _red_ hair, very cute."

" _Sa..._ "

"Is she a natural red head?" Said another questioningly, trying not to get too excited.

"Natural as can be." Miyake answered, leaving the student to be unsure if that was really a yes or a no.

"Hey, do you think I can go today?!" The first student asked, waving his hand in the air at Miyake. Meanwhile Tsuchida, who had been pleasantly ignoring them, twisted back to them in his desk, awaiting an answer.

Nakumura, with a half smile, tapped his mouth in playful consideration. "No! Just the three of us!"

"But, don't you have cram school today, Kazu?" Tsuchida chimed in, his voice smooth and soft, yet clearly audible. Nakamura's cheeks puffed as he stared at Tsuchida's indifferent face.

"No...you know I don't do cram school today..." Nakamura uttered faintly, sweating at his own words.

"Nah, Tatsuya's right. You always did have cram school this part of the week." Miyake pointed at his friend puffed cheek.

Nakamura's face grew larger as his puffed cheeks grew fuller. Panning his neck quickly from Tatsuya to Akira, his two friends smirked back at him until he finally deflated his cheeks with a groan. "Well! I'm skipping for Fujiyama! If I go to cram school today, and if I get accepted into Todai and she gets sacked, won't I feel guilty?"

Tatsuya didn't reply and instead focused on finishing his lunch. He didn't care Kazu skipped on the cram school his hard-working parents were paying for, but it would be better if he didn't skip just for some gaijin girl.

"Don't pretend that you weren't also looking at her and that you weren't the least bit excited to introduce yourself yesterday! She smiled at you Tatsuya." Kazu uttered to the back of Tatsuya head. Though he couldn't see it, he knew he was pulling the trigger. " _I...my name is Tsuchida, Tatsuya._ "

Tatsuya's chair legs scrapped harshly against the tile floor, causing Kazu's voice to break. Unconsciously, the other boys had stiffened as well, waiting for Tatsuya to turn back to them and yell at them or laugh at them. They could never really tell with him.

As Tatsuya twisted back, his eyes were blank, not necessarily angry, but Kazu knew he had hit a sensitive spot, but he wasn't sure what it meant. Though Kazu was quite book smart, he was never as bright as Tatsuya.

Tatsuya's lips parted and he uttered. "Even if Fujiyama gets sacked, won't you want to use the English skills she has given us to communicate with English speakers?"

The boys' stiff bodies relaxed; they weren't expecting that response. Akihito, or Akira to his friends, broke the ice. "I guess I'll study harder, na?"

This statement was enough to cause a slow flow of chatter between the boys again. Tatsuya, though, stayed out of the conversation and returned to his lunch. He remembered his shaky introduction with Ms. Summons the day before and her smile. Suddenly, criticizing his friend seemed like a mistake. He was deeply bothered by his thoughts: was he a hypocrite?  
  


* * *

 

"I want to meet him." Mira laughed with Jayla, standing with Davina by the school gate as students exited out to go home.

Davina cringed at the idea, conscious about her recent thoughts of introducing Mira and Jayla to Shin. She didn't want to overwhelm Shin. "No offense, but I don't want to freak him out. I barely know him."

"Oh, are you worried that we're going to _embarrass_ you, Davina?!" Jayla nudged her friend.

Davina blinked and adjusted her dance bag over her shoulder. The last thing she wanted to was be misunderstood. "I just think it's too soon. I mean..." Davina didn't know what to say to her smiling friends. Shin and her weren't friends... She was the class tutor and he was her companion on her walks home. She couldn't know if such a friendship had developed between them until after the midterm.

Her friends' smiles dimmed again. Davina hoped they hadn't taken her words the wrong way. Unbeknown to her, they fully understood. They remembered transferring to ASIJ from their respective homes and having difficulty knowing where they stood pertaining to their relations with individual Japanese people.

As they said somber "goodbyes" to Davina, they wished the best for their friend. That she would get what she wanted from her audition with SAB and her potential friendship from this _guy_.

Davina felt horrible because she couldn't look them in the eye as they left. If it was her way, she would be confident and declare her wish to be friends with Shin herself, and Mira and Jayla would have introduced themselves and charm him and his friends like they had with her.

Guilty restlessness washed over her and she reached into her bag for her cellphone. Her thumb flipped open the mobile. She stared at the menu before slowly closing the phone on her thumb. What would she say to them anyway? That she didn't have the guts to talk to Shin? And that his friendship really mattered to her? Or that she wouldn't know what to do if Shin hadn't wanted her friendship?

"Something wrong?"

Davina shut her eyes to take in a breath of air. She slowly reopened them as she slowly turned around, tucking stray strands of hair behind her ears. Shin's dark eyes glowered down at her, his usually blank face full of concern. Unable to face his gaze, Davina glanced at the ground. Shin peered ahead at the crowds leaving the gates, either entering the bus or down towards the station.

"Those two—are they friends of yours?" Shin asked, still watching the crowds.

"Yes, best friends." She said to his shoes.

Shin didn't know what inside had promoted him to ask, but "do they know about...the tutoring?" Shin had almost been prepared to say, "me," but had restrained, for again, reasons he didn't know.

Davina dared to look at Shin and his black blazer, black pants uniform. "They know about you."

Her saying "you" made him twitch unconsciously and to fight the urge, he paced a few steps ahead of her. He couldn't imagine if what Davina had said about him to them, and he couldn't admit to himself that he was curious. "And?"

Slowly stepping around to face him, he refused to look down at her again. She paused to sigh before answering. "They would like to meet you."

Her saying "you" made him twitch again and not in an entirely unpleasant way. He also couldn't admit that he was a bit flattered. He busied himself by dusting off his sleeves and scratching an itch on the back on his head. His arms quickly dropped his sides and into his blazer pockets. "We're already half way done. Just a few more sessions to go."

They started towards the station. Their positioning was in sync, yet his steps were loose and slow, while hers were fast and coordinated. Davina noticed their differences in rhythm, remembering Jayla's earlier confession that her project type for a man for Davina would be conventional. What did conventional mean? From the way Jayla had said it, she had made it seem like Shin wasn't conventional. Davina could admit that Shin wasn't on her expected list of boys or even type of boys who she expected to seek after. According to her friends, was Shin a shade off from Davina's conventional or completely the opposite?

She slowly panned to her left. Shin's hair was obviously un-brushed, there was dirt under his fingernails, his clothes were un-ironed but not messy. Shin was definitely not dirty but not...clean-cut. Davina meanwhile, had learned from her mother young and hard that she needed to keep up with her appearance. Which meant getting her nails done, her hair always styled, and always wearing a little bit of make-up. Outfit-wise, casual for Davina was considered "nice" for most people. "No daughter of mine is going out in jeans and a t-shirt!" Her mother had yelled at her once. Davina never bothered to argue, thankful for her mother's persistence.

Her parents had tried to set her up with a few of the army kids her age. They were mostly miniature versions of her father, _very_ clean-cut. Her mother would often shake her head in confusion, "you're a very attractive girl, Davina. I had many suitors at your age. All of them were very nice, so I don't see why you don't give anyone a chance."

Her father then would usually snipe, "my little girl isn't going out with just _anybody_. I'm more than happy to let her wait, but if she finds someone she likes, I have to like him too. I will decide if he is good enough for my daughter."

A scarier thought than her friends meeting Shin: her parents meeting Shin. Her parents, especially her dad, were more judgmental than they ever wanted to admit. She thought about hinting about their impatience to them, but halted, deciding that was a can of worms she didn't dare open.

Crossing an intersection, Davina fumbled with the charm on her necklace, suddenly spotting Shin's respective accessory. Hand-charm rested on his chest, glowing silver in the sun's rays. Even while walking, Davina leaned in, trying to get a closer look. "Ano..."

Shin hadn't heard her quick mutter over the traffic and Davina's throat closed up, choking her ability to speak. She definitely knew what symbol was hanging around his neck, yet she only knew the English term and the English definition. Crossing her arms against a breeze of cold, Davina bit her lip while staring at her own shoes.

Davina's thwarted attempt to communicate hadn't gone unnoticed by Shin, who was scoping her sudden arm-crossing, lip-biting, and bitter looks away. The wind had picked up, making the cool late Spring temperatures raw and frigid. Believing her sudden motions were that from being cold, Shin without a second thought, shrugged off his blazer and draped it on her shoulders.

The girl gave a slight start when the blazer pressed against her back, feeling Shin's hands through the fabric on her shoulder blades. A wave of warmth came over her and she was instantly grateful. Davina smelled Shin's slight scent and unconsciously hugged the blazer tighter around her.

She was ready to give back the layer to Shin when she saw him with only a simple white shirt as a cover. "Ano... _what about you?_ " Davina accidentally uttered in English. Before she could retract her words for translation, Shin responded.

"I don't wear that blazer for warmth." With that, Shin's trademark poker face gazed down at Davina, allowing them both to meet eye to eye. It was the first time Davina had ever read deeper into that blank expression. Blank as far as facial gestures go, but by no means empty. Shin was genuine with a legitimate sense of caring.

Davina didn't mind the dirt under his fingernails, and she didn't mind his bedhead hair. She rather liked how nicely his white button-down shirt was fitted on him. As she weaved her arms through the sleeves and let her long hair down on the blazer, she didn't object to how the blazer practically swallowed her. She could imagine her mother's shrills about wearing a blazer too big for her and covering up a nice outfit.

Davina kept a close eye on Shin to make sure he didn't ever shiver, yet she was secretly glad to see that he wasn't cold. She didn't want to find out if she could willingly give back the blazer. His fists found a home in his pants' pockets and never once when the wind blew did Shin reveal any sense of discomfort.

The sleeves extended past her fingertips and the sides billowed out around her waist, even with her bag strap shaping out her shoulders, chest, and hips. She tried to mask her excitement, trying to maintain an indifferent expression on her face, fighting a smile from pursing at her lips. Admittedly, the butterflies were flurrying inside from every brush of his scent and every reminder that the cover she was wearing belong to Shin. It was Shin's blazer. And he had given it to her.

"Arigatou, Shin."

"No problem, Davina."  
  


* * *

 

Headteacher's eyes narrowed on the site. Sawada was violating dress code and a stranger was on his campus. Filing awkwardly down the stairs, he had to put an immediate to stop it.

"Sawada!" Headteacher's voice projected down the hall as Shin and Davina were about to go down the final flight of stairs to 3-D.

Shin made an annoyed grunt as he turned away to face Headteacher. Davina's jaw dropped at the downright tackiness of the man who approached them. Green suit, strange hair style...was this man aware of what decade he was living in?

Shin's eyes never looked directly back at the strange man even as he inched closely to him. "Dress code violation! If you cannot bother to wear all the articles of the specified dress code, then dismiss yourself from the roster!"

Davina rubbed the overflowing edges of Shin's blazer. She hadn't fully understood what the man was sniping about but she got the gist that she would soon need to return Shin's blazer.

The man's attention perked down to Davina, the blaring whites of his eyes made Davina tiptoe back. He seemed to be taking in her features, definitely surprised to see her standing with Shin. Before Headteacher could direct any comments to Davina, Shin stepped in the way between her and him. Shin's unwaveringly firm face was level and inches away from Headteacher's glare.

"Who is that?"

Suddenly, Uchi, Noda, Minami, and Kuma stormed from 3-D and forced themselves into between Headteacher and Shin. All four of them in a line narrowed their sneers and unyielding stances on Headteacher.

Davina could only peek over their shoulders, but the man wasn't at all intimidated by the massive outnumbering between him and boys who could do some damage to him if provoked.

"If you delinquents insist in sticking together then you'll be throw out of school together!" Headteacher roared at the boys.

Uchi face darkened as he inched closer to Headteacher. "What was that?!"

Yankumi, obviously withered, shoved in front of the boys without absorbing what Headteacher was yelling about. "Please, tutoring is about to start and it would be useless to waste precious time."

Headteacher, annoyed, barely acknowledged Yamaguchi sensei's presence. His angry expression was still plastered on his face, trying to stare down the boys. Even with Yankumi as peacekeeper the boys stood firm and unforgiving. Davina's eyes were fixed on the tacky man and her stare was matched when his glance shifted to her. His eyes narrowed once more and a curl on his head fell to his temple.

Blinking frantically, Headteacher smoothed both sides of his head. The distraction to fix his hair was enough to ease the tension in the hall; Headteacher knew he had lost any ability he previously owned to be intimidating.

" _Shitsureshimasu._ " Please excuse us. Yankumi simpered with a smug nod of the head. She sighed in relief when Headteacher scurried off down the hall, with his tail in between his legs.

Yankumi clapped her hands and spun on her heel. "Let's start! After school tutoring English exam! Fighto! Oh!" Excitedly, she rustled with Minami's and Noda's hair, but groaned when she realized Noda's hair was coated with sticky styling gel. "Waghh." She rubbed her hand gingerly on her pants before returning to the classroom, followed by Minami, Kuma, Uchi, and Noda.

As Shin turned to head into the room, Davina held him back by his elbow. "Huh?"

Davina dropped her duffel to the tile floor and carefully took off Shin's blazer. Holding the blazer by the collar, her arm extended until Shin grasped the piece of clothing. "Daijoubu." I'm okay.

He was already working his hands through the sleeves. Davina, grabbing her bag, expected Shin to set his fists into his blazer pockets, however, his ringed hand pressed on her head and gently rustled her hair. "Ii yo." It's okay.

Davina caught Shin's blank face. He had spun away too quickly for her to read into his expression, hoping that he hadn't thought that she gave back his blazer because she didn't want its embrace. She rubbed her cold arms.  
  


* * *

 

Among the busy chatter of students studying and tutoring, Tsuchida kept a lingering watchful eye on Davina. In between listening and responding to a 3-D student's questions, Tatsuya involuntarily would sneak a glimpse on the redheaded girl.

Davina seemed chipper today and light as feather. Her enthusiasm, for whatever reason, seemed to diffuse to the 3-D boys and Yamaguchi sensei. Tatsuya saw Yamaguchi sensei share a quick word with Davina and then both of them laughing together. The bothering feeling in his gut nagged him about his words to Kazu. As long as he stayed objective about his curiosity towards Davina, he wouldn't be a hypocrite.

3-D was remarkably approving in their English. Granted the '3SP,' was proving to be very difficult, even by Tatsuya's standards. Both Akira and Kazu found their excuses to ask for a moment of Davina's time to clarify the rules for them.

"Hey? Are you listening?"

Tatsuya, who had been watching Davina help the big blond fellow, had lost concentration on his tutoring. "Oh, you just add an 's' to the verb to make it present tense."

"Are you sure? I thought Yankumi and Dabi—

"Of course I'm sure. 'We live in Tokyo' should be 'we lives in Tokyo.'" Tatsuya marked in the student's book without seeing his pout of uncertainty.

"You're wrong."

The student's pout evaporated into a smirk and Tatsuya stiffened. He recognized the soft voice. Slowly turning, he saw Davina's arm reach out on to the student's desk and take his textbook. Also borrowing his pencil, she erased Tatsuya's markings and rewrote the student's original answer. "Matsudaira-kun was correct. 'We live in Tokyo' is the correct phrasing for making the subject plural. If the subject is plural then you don't need to make the verb plural in this case."

Tatsuya remained silent even as Matsudaira and Davina exchanged snickers and he gave her a wink. Davina chuckled at Matsudaira and gave returned his book.

Upon receiving the book, Matsudaira shrilled, "you have stay and help me, I can't trust his answers anymore."

Davina beamed at Tatsuya as she dropped the pencil back onto Matsudaira's desk. "Trust me, I bet that Tsuchida-kun won't make anymore mistakes." Her hand covered her mouth as she turned away to answer another student's questions, covering another sly smirk.

"I guess I'll study harder." Tatsuya murmured to himself, officially losing subjectivity he had previously owned. It no longer bothered him that he was hypocrite. He simply knew what he wanted when he saw it and what he wanted was another chance to talk with Davina and hopefully not make a fool of himself.  
  


* * *

 

Yankumi checked her watch and scanned throughout the classroom. More than a few of the students were dosing off, Shin, Davina, and the 3-C students were obviously tiring from running around and answering the never ending list of questions. All smiles, but clearly exhausted, she waved up both arms to gather everyone's attention. She declared dismissal for the day. "Any questions or concerns? Ask now or forever hold your peace!"

A lone hand raised in the center of the classroom.

Yankumi pointed her hand towards the student. "Speak!"

"Could Davina show us her ballet?" Asked the student clear as day.

Immediately, Davina's eyes darted towards Shin, who seemed unmoved by the request but uncertain. Ultimately, he shrugged and Davina nodded to the class. "Are you all sure?"

Davina couldn't imagine teenage boys such as these in the class being incited by ballet. Yet there was a census throughout the class that they were excited to see her perform in the pink slippers she had shown them the first day she had came.

"Show us, Dabina!"

"Yes, _please_!"

Yankumi, seeing the girl's reluctance, stepped in. "Now, now, everyone, it's inappropriate, Dabina-chan is probably tired—

"No, no, sensei. I can show them something." Davina paced towards Yankumi's podium, reaching for her dance bag. How could she argue with please? She was a performer after all. She would be more than happy to give the crowd what it wanted.

She left the room momentarily and as she shut the door, she could hear the sound of desks being moved for space. Dropping her duffel to the ground, Davina examined her clothing. It was a lucky choice that she wore a skirt and leggings. Sitting on the ground, she slowly removed off her flats. She fitted on her toe padding and gently wore her feet into the slippers. Carefully, she tied her ribbons over the leggings and around her ankles, letting the ribbon sit comfortably over the bone.

Instead of doing a full warm up, she did a few releves and stretches in first, third, and fifth until she was satisfied.

She had never realized how loudly the door creaked until she returned to the classroom. The desks had been pushed all the way to the back and everyone either stood with their desk or along the lockers. Davina spotted Shin leaning on his desk, near his friends and Yankumi, who had let her hair down and set her glasses in her chest pocket.

Tatsuya stood with Kazu and Akira in the other corner of the classroom. Ballet had never interested him before, but it was interesting to him to know that Davina was a ballerina.

After inhaling a deep breath, Davina positioned her arms above her, feeling the energy rise from over neck as she leaned back. There was no music, but everyone imagined soft music playing along with Davina's gentle movements. Her floral skirt fluttered and spun with the grace of her legs while her blouse and tights marked every angle she stretched and leaned. Her eyes remained shut yet no one doubted she had total control. She danced in front of them what S.A.B. would see from her. The ease and flow of every twirl, leap, and pointe was awe striking. Everyone knew it was over when she slowly came down from releve, her arms floated down to her sides, and her eyes opened.

Almost as though she were just awoken from a dream, her eyes were glassy and a small smile pursed her lips. No one had moved yet as Davina's eyes panned from Tatsuya's corner to Shin's. Same poker held up by an arm under his chin, but his eyes were attentive.

The butterflies were floating happily in her stomach, glad that Shin had appreciated her dancing. Scanning the room once more, Uchi, Noda, Minami, Kuma, Yankumi, Tsuchida, everyone was attentive and, apparently, speechless.

Taking both ends of her skirt, Davina bowed, causing a soft rustle of clapping in the back of the room.

Rising up, Davina beamed. "Thank you."  
  


* * *

 

While untying her ribbons, the 3-D boys were complimenting her ability and asking her some last minute questions.

Slouched in his desk, Shin watched as Tsuchida repacked his things as slow as a snail. Shin had seen Tsuchida's secret little glances of interest at Davina. Tsuchida was definitely waiting for the room to clear for him to approach her.

Slowly but surely, the occupancy of the classroom lowered, leaving only Shin, Yankumi, Davina, Uchi, Minami, Noda, Kuma, Akira, Kazu and Tatsuya. Shin simply waited at his desk and ignored his friends planning for after tutoring. The four of them, while still conversing, simultaneously stood from their seats, heading for the backstairs.

Kuma nudged him. "Shin?"

"Hmmm?" Shin turned his neck to his friend, still watching Tsuchida in the full span on his vision.

"Aren't you coming along?"

"I'll pass." Shin curtly answered.

"Suit yourself, man." Minami sighed as the four of them climbed the backstairs and kicked the door open.

Kazu and Akira were also planning. Kazu just complained that he needed to kill another hour so that his parents wouldn't question about his whereabouts and start asking about cram school.

"Are you coming?" Akira asked his friend.

"I have something I need to take care of." Tatsuya replied.

His two friends shrugged, slightly disappointed. Looking over their shoulders at Tatsuya before their departure, they both wondered to themselves about Tatsuya's strange behavior recently.

Now it was only Shin and Tatsuya with Yankumi and Davina. Though the two females in the room were giggling to themselves; Yankumi was expressing her excitement about ballet, meanwhile trying to go on pointe, regardless of how much Davina protested. "No! You'll hurt yourself!" Yankumi held up two arms above her head and twirled on the tips of the tennis shoes. In half spin, she lost her balance, but luckily caught herself before she smacked the tile floor.

The two boys met each others' stares, causing tension to grow between them. Yankumi heaved a sigh of exhaustion, asking to be excused so she could continue working on the study guides _and_ grade them. "I'll probably call you a dozen times tonight."

"Ask all you need, sensei." Davina replied.

Yankumi smiled at "sensei." The only people who called her "sensei" were faculty and it was freshening to hear a teenager use that title in regards with respect to her. "Sore ja." Please, excuse me.

Davina yawned as Yankumi disappeared behind the classroom door. She wished she too could go home, just to rest a bit before going to ballet. However, time constraints prevented her from doing that. Twisting around to find Shin, she saw both Shin and Tatsuya in the room, both waiting for something.

Tatsuya bit his lip but decided be brave and take his chance. He straightened from leaning on a desk and walked towards Davina, his footsteps echoing in the empty classroom. Davina was surprised by his approach, occasionally glancing at Shin, feeling nerves gather in her gut. The way that Tsuchida was looking at her was nerve-wracking, completely soft compared to how he usually held himself in front of other people.

Tatsuya stood only a step away from Davina, scratching the back of his head, as if unsure of himself. "Ano...Suminsu-san?"

"Yes?" Davina's voice squeaked and she was immediately glad that the room was mostly empty, but extremely embarrassed that the only other person there was Shin.

Tatsuya inhaled a deep breath, dropped his hand from his head and straightened his posture.

Shin highly debated on just leaving. He couldn't stand to watch this. Biting the inside of his cheek, Shin shoved the back of his chair and stomped up the stairs. Davina, hearing Shin's departure, wanted to go to him, but was preoccupied with Tsuchida.

Shin's raucous went unheard to Tatsuya whose focus was fixed on Davina. "Would it be possible for us to get together for dinner?"

Davina's mouth slid open as her fingers hit against her lips in surprise.

Davina had nothing against the guy, but his request had appeared out of nowhere. Why hadn't she seen it before? She had teased him, yes, but wasn't Tsuchida-san also held to the same deal as everyone else in 3-D? Though, he and his two friends were probably exempt, because they weren't actually taking the exam. The offer was flattering, but Davina wasn't interested in him.

"Tsuchida-san..." She paused when his expression grew tender and sensitive. Guilt boiled within her. Biting her lip, she crossed her arms, thinking hard. _"I had so many suitors at your age. All of them were nice. I don't see why you don't give anyone a chance."_ Davina remembered her mother's words. She didn't want to say "no" and allow the next few days to be awkward and she didn't want to embarrass him. But what about Shin? She hadn't given any considerate thought to dating and or going steady. But what about Shin? And it wasn't officially a date...right? It couldn't hurt...

But... Davina looked at the door in the stairway and Shin's desk. He was gone.

"Sure, dinner would be nice." The words came out before Davina had second thoughts. Her acceptance felt raw and fake on her tongue; her voice sounded so unlike herself. However, that didn't stop Tatsuya's obvious excitement from sneaking into his expression.

"Tomorrow night?"

Davina simpered and shook her head, still feeling forced and uneasy. "Ballet tomorrow."

Tatsuya was hesitant yet didn't argue, remembering the ballet slippers and her dance. "Saturday?"

"Night. Ballet in the afternoon." Davina added bluntly.

Tatsuya wasn't thrilled about having such little input on the set time and date, but he left it at that. "Can I meet you at Hachiko, at five?"

If Davina remembered correctly, Hachiko was the bronze dog statue in Shibuya. "Shibuya, five on Saturday." Now, Davina was frantic to leave, the butterflies rushed in her stomach and chest, almost painfully. "Sore ja." Davina went around Tatsuya, brisking hurriedly to the back stairway.

"Wait—mobile number?" Tatsuya flipped open his phone, preparing to place in a new contact. Davina reached for her own phone, disliking the fact that she was about to give her number away. Through info-red, their information exchanged with a few clicks from both phones. Tatsuya looked pleased. "Sore ja." He gave a slight bow of his head and turned to leave.

"Ja ne." Bye. Davina exhaled deeply when he was out of earshot. Her stomach and chest were still nervous from what she had just planned. As she smugly climbed the stairs, her foot stomped heavily on each step. If it wasn't such a big deal, then why did she feel so uncomfortable?

Opening the door, Davina, much to her relief, saw Shin leaning against the back wall. Even blank, judging by Shin's expression, she knew that he could tell what had just happened. Their eyes met for a few seconds, then he broke away and gulped. "Did he say anything?" Shin asked deeply, staring at the trees.

Davina leaned against the wall with him and looked ahead at the trees. The sky beamed yellow with the sun hidden behind the trees. The wind rustled the leaves, blowing leaves to the tree roots. Birds sang happily to each other, causing Davina to smile. "Nothing important."

She continued to watch the birds and the trees while Shin peered to his right, at Davina. Her hair bounced along with the wind and her smile beautifully glowed. He saw her hands rub her arms as the wind picked up, so he took off his blazer and held it to her chest for her to wear.

Davina was taken back by the gesture again. Reading his expression again; no longer did he seem bothered by Tatsuya's advances, but concerned again and always willing to protect her well being. Touched, she wore the blazer once more. For a brief moment, she had doubted her progress with Shin, almost expecting he had left her to go walk by herself. Yet, he was allowing her to wear his blazer, meaning that Tsuchida didn't matter. What they had was still safe. "Arigatou, Shin."

Shin's ringed hand messed around in her hair once more, causing Davina to chuckle and playfully lean away from his hand. "No problem, Davina."

 


	8. Jealous Tsuchida

Davina kicked off her shoes, groaning in pain as her feet shook free. Flexing each foot, she mentally reminded herself that she needed to carry a pair of sneakers in her dance bag, as well as buy more gauze tape to wrap around her toes BEFORE the injuries occurred. Limping the entire way home had caused the normally concisely spoken Shin to stare at her legs and repeatedly ask if she were alright. She had caught his watchful concern so she had ground her teeth and smoothed her walk, trying to ignore the agonizing burn in her shoes. Shin worries were derived from slight awe; he had never seen Davina _not_ flow in her walk or way of being.

"Are you alright?" Shin had raised his voice roughly.

Davina tried to mask her pain and step normally, regardless of how her shoes cut into the tender patches on her feet. "No problems, just a few cuts from ballet." She had seriously thought of taking off her shoes, but if she stopped walking, the stings would refresh, making the first few steps even more hurtful.

Carefully examining the pink gashes along her skin, Davina heaved an enduring sigh. Her sore arches were unpleasantly tight as she pointed and relaxed her toes. Injury went hand and hand with ballet, something Davina had accepted long before she wanted to go pro. Shin's raised voice had upset her, because she didn't want him to worry about such things. Her parents were exposed to the sprains, strains, and ugly injuries her passion induced her to. Jayla and Mira had their own scraps to deal with, so there was mutual understanding and sympathy. Shin though, Davina imagined, didn't have a real clue.

If her Japanese had been sufficient, he would have at least known that Davina dealt with such injuries on a regular basis. She would have explained that "it was the price to be paid to appear like you're floating across the stage." Maybe not fully understand the pain and bruises attached, many people didn't understand why she continued such a trying sport.

Her door cracked open and her mother peaked head first into her room. "Davina?"

Davina looked up from her feet and stood gingerly, slightly wincing. "Hi, Ma."

Her mother's eyes twitched at the pink slashes on her feet. Crossing her arms, in a manner that Davina recognized as her mother's way of expressing her concern as a mother and yet understanding that with 'no pain' there was 'no gain.'

Davina turned away and moved her bag to the foot of her bed to allow space for her to sit. She could sense her mother's slow steps towards her as she busied herself with trying to fish out her ballet slippers. Her mother's silence told her already what her mother's conversation to entail for her: be more careful!

Her mother moved her bag to the floor and sat down her with her. "Davina," she began in a soothing voice. "I know I sound like a broken record player, but if you push yourself too hard now, you may not feel it now or in ten years, but when you're my age, you'll be so stiff and need so many correctional surgeries to fix every that you are straining now."

Davina fingered the insides of her shoes and the padding for wear and tear. Lucky, she thought humorlessly, no blood.

Her mother slapped her shoes from her hands, her tone now matching the concerned anger within her. "Davina! Please listen, I don't like seeing you hurt now and I don't want to see you hurt in the future." She cupped her daughter's chin so the stubborn girl would pay attention, lowering the volume of her voice, but staying firm. "All I ask is that you take care of yourself. Tape your feet before you wear your shoes and if it hurts, just stop."

Davina sighed, wishing her mother wouldn't fuss over a couple of blisters. "Ma, I have homework I should get to. I'm pretty tired too, so I'll try and go to bed early. I'll have to cut my practice short—"

Her mother dropped her hand from her face and turned her head away as she groaned in slight annoyance. "Don't practice for tonight. Just sleep early."

Davina groaned like her mother. "But, M _a_! I need to stay consistent in my exercises!"

Her mother heaved a defeated sigh. "Oh, Davina, if you don't allow yourself to heal now, why complain about not dancing for a few hours when you could injury yourself from not healing and not dancing nor walking for six months!"

Davina didn't protest, allowing her mother to win this one. She reached over to the desk and pressed down on the switch for her computer until it hummed. Her mother made for the door, brushing some stray hairs from her temple and cheek. Her hand clasped on the knob of the door when she suddenly paused and turned to the daughter again. "Oh, before I forget again the reason why I came, we're going to a dinner tomorrow evening at seven. Your father wants to you go."

Davina's fingers froze over her keyboard, grimacing at her shadowy reflection on her monitor. Tomorrow? She crawled from her bed into her desk chair, rotating her computer to have it continue to face her. "What dinner is going on tomorrow?"

Her mother leaned against the door, her tone matching the same annoyed pitch, showing that it was recent news to her as well. "A new family is coming to the base tomorrow, err—late tonight actually, but the dinner is for welcoming them to the base. Just like the one we attended when we first came here."

Her ill temper associated with their own welcoming dinner only multiplied Davina's lack of desire to go. All she recalled from that dinner were her parents shaking loads of hands and her groggy adjustment to the time difference. A few teenagers had introduced themselves, but she knew she had made a sour impression because she was just so damn tired. She hadn't wanted to appear standoffish, but some irritation transferred into her greeting from her parents shouting at her to dress up and go when all she wanted was to sleep. She had ultimately dosed off in the middle of the ceremony and drowsily remembered her father tucking her into bed in her dress.

Davina's recent schedule was unforgiving, especially with the expected tutoring crunch-time with the midterm just a weekend away. She wasn't really necessary at these functions, being the oddball who didn't want to continue on with the military or something dealing with international affairs like the other kids. "With your background and skills, Davina, you could be very important to U.S. International work." As many of the sergeants often told her, perhaps with the insistence of her father. It was awkward and tiresome to repeat herself that, yes, she just wanted to dance. She was sure they wouldn't dearly miss her if she was absent from one ceremony... "Can I just not go?"

Her mother tilted her head back and forth, halfheartedly considering. "Dad wants you to be there."

All hope of skipping the ceremony drained from Davina. Crushed, she was already trying to calculate fitting in the ceremony and preparation; she predicted another rushed day. She respired softly, too mentally worn out from a mad week of rushing and fitting in errands. And what the hell was she going to wear to this thing? "Is dad home yet?"

"He called and said he would be later than usual in preparation for this family's arrival."

Her mother's answer further weakened Davina's will to ask her father to miss the ceremony. Seeing no way out, she glanced to her wardrobe, wearing a thoughtful expression. Skirt or dress?

Her mother quietly weeded away from her daughter's room, knowing that silence meant her daughter was mentally sorting out an outfit for the ceremony.

Just as the door shut, Davina's cell phone tittered in her dance bag. Nearly falling off her out seat reaching for the bag, she managed to pull the duffel closer and find her phone. Flipping up the receiver, she smiled at the caller ID.

"Moshi, moshi, Yankumi-sensei..."

* * *

Shin tossed his blazer into his chair and lay onto his bed in swift motion, shutting his eyes before he hit the mattress.

His biting curiosity was never uttered during his walk to the army base with Davina; he had been more worried about getting her home without hurting herself.

Though Yankumi had called him a genius a few times, he was no rocket scientist, but he knew merely by experience what had occurred between Tsuchida and Davina. He had seen his friends lay their hearts on the line and he had been through it himself: asking out a girl for time alone between them. He had also seen the girl right after she rejected their invitations, her face would usually munch up with harshness and often disgust, and on rare occasions, guilt. He could not find guilt nor that fueled bleakness in Davina when she met him outside. He didn't need to ask her anything, but was pondering why he hadn't noticed Tsuchida's now obvious plan to be near her?

Shin had spotted Tsuchida becoming engrossed by her during the tutoring session. She had teased him, playfully, and perhaps seeing her dance ballet had sealed his interest in her. Shin had been too slow in his calculations and now Tsuchida was in the midst of things.

Tsuchida wasn't a bad person, his choice in friends left much to be desired. Miyake and Nakamura were slower than Tsuchida, but even they were shady.

Shin's memory flashed the image of Davina in Roppongi, ducking her head, trying to make herself as small as possible. Yankumi, 3-D, and those from 3-C knew Davina as the steadfast girl with undeniable talent and the glowing smile. Shin had met her as the nervous girl with shivery hands and tear-stained cheeks.

His responsibility to keep her safe that night was still intact while her commitment to completing her favor to Shin was still not relinquished yet. Shin had admitted to himself when the tutoring first began that even if she decided after the exams that she was done associating with him, he never could leave her with the slightest bit of doubt that she wasn't alright. And as long as she held relations to Tsuchida, that doubt burned within him.

Shin would keep his cool though. It was still too early to act, but he would keep an open watch on Tsuchida and his friends.

* * *

Tsuchida brisked into 3-C, the same as he always did. However, that day, his classmates peered at him strangely as he walked in and somehow, he knew that all of them knew. Akira and Kazu eyed him with uncertain expressions, muttering quick words to each other before he was in audible distance. Tatsuya bent into his desk and removed his shoulder bag, preparing himself for their questions.

He heard soft murmuring behind his left ear and didn't bother to focus, knowing by instinct that he was the topic of the whispers that were circulating the room. He simply ignored them; he was in no shape or form ashamed of his actions. He sensed their eyes prying at the back of his head and regardless of how collected and indifferent he wanted to appear, the back of his neck grew cold.

Tatsuya heard two chairs scrap back and his spine twitched. A pair of footsteps slowly surrounded his back until it was far beyond of the point of him being able to pretend to be ignoring them.

He turned around in his chair and was faced by Akira and Kazu. They stood casually, but with tight lips. Tatsuya read the shadows under their eyes and braced himself with an intake of breath.

"Tatsuya," Kazu shrugged his fists into his pocket. "Akira and I just want..." He gingerly scratched the back of his neck. "...to let you know that no matter what 3-D says or does to you, we've got your back."

The seriousness of Kazu's and Akira's face faded away instantly when Tatsuya's exhaled his earlier intake of breath, realizing he had been holding it in. Tatsuya laughed at himself, suddenly surprised by the quick pace of his heart.

His two friends chuckled at their friend's obvious release in worry. Didn't Tatsuya know them long enough to know that they wouldn't be angry with him about such things?

"So...she said 'yes?' I bet that's nice." Akira mused, setting his arms behind his neck.

"Why did you do it? She seems a little uptight. Plus she doesn't speak Japanese, I mean, she does...but then, why don't you date a Japanese girl?" Kazu pounded Tatsuya with his questions, almost thinking out loud.

"Is it dating? I just want to talk with her, is all." Tatsuya muttered innocently, not caring if his friends believe him or not.

"Haruki wants to be introduced." Akira added. Kazu groaned uncomfortably.

Tatsuya cocked an eyebrow and leaned back into his seat, silent. Akira shrugged at his friends, all three of them were mutually aware of their other friend's antics and intentions. "Well, he can wait. I've barely been introduced." He said, with nodding approval from Akira and Kazu.

Akira and Kazu met each other's glances, far too perfectly in sync for Tatsuya to disregard. "Spit it out." Tatsuya demanded.

Kazu licked his lips and inhaled a deep breath. Obviously troubled at finding the right words, he slanted at Akira, almost hoping that Akira would answer instead, however he shook his head, making Kazu inhale another deep breath. "A rumor is swirling around that she belongs to Sawada."

Before Tatsuya could facially respond, Akira continued Kazu's thought. "Unofficially—in the very least. He's considered to be the underlying reason why no one in 3-D has attempted for a date yet."

Tatsuya wasn't fazed by this information. "It might seem like it, but they're just friends right?"

"The suspicious bit is that no one knows how they know each other. Apparently, Sawada's best friends didn't know about her either, until the tutoring started."

Tatsuya agreed, that was a tad suspicious. He had never seen them off campus together, yet whenever on campus, they were never separated. Shin would escort her to 3-D and escort her out. Where did it go from there? Tatsuya rubbed and fidgeted with his collar in the trademark way that his friends recognized that he was still trying to appear calm and cool, yet he was getting nervous.

"Well—" Tatsuya began sternly, also consistent with his trademark collar adjustment. "If something, more intense than friendship, develops between Dabina-chan and me, I will simply address Sawada about his... _closeness_ with her."

Even though Tatsuya was firm and satisfied with his plan, his two friends were pale with unease. Both were silent for a few moments, while all three of them were recalling Sawada's reputation, the silent respect he had earned for hitting a _teacher_. Upon looking at him, one wouldn't think that he would or could care about anything. And damn it, his friends. That herd that Sawada was always surrounded by. Academically, they were slow, but they were quick to throw a punch. If Tatsuya dared told Sawada to back off, if Sawada didn't retaliate, his friends definitely would.

Scratching his head, Kazu stared at the ground to avoid Tatsuya's eyes. "You're pretty brave, na?"

Akira merely shrugged and shoved his fists into his blazer pocket. "She wouldn't be worth it to me, if I had to deal with... _that_."

Just then, Kobayshi-sensei, their semi-teacher could be seen rambling from down the hall, briefcase in hand, and giving signal for Akira and Kazu to return to their desks.

It was English class and Friday morning, the day before he was to see Davina alone. Just him and her. Kobayashi-sensei was reciting his notes and rephrasing them into the chalkboard, but Tatsuya, even jotting down the notes, was too distracted to focus on what he was writing.

Pondering the situation by himself, Tatsuya relaxed at the fact that, yes, Davina had said, "yes." That was more important than any worries he or anyone had about Sawada. If Davina had wanted something romantic towards Sawada, she would have said "no." Plus, if Sawada wanted Davina all to himself, why would he bring her to a classroom filled with desperate men? No suitor in his right-mind would encourage more competition.

Then again, that blank look, from the day before. Tatsuya hadn't exchanged words with Sawada, yet that short moment said more than what words could ever behold. He was judging him.

Tatsuya dropped his pen and stared off into the corner, kicking himself for not realizing this before. Was Sawada planning something?

Tatsuya shook his head. He lifted his chin and returned his focus on the chalkboard. There was no way he was going to let this worry himself. If Sawada cared...or if Davina cared...he would have been observant enough to back away. But she had said "yes." That "yes" was for him. Not Sawada. A smile tugged at his lips. It wasn't Tatsuya's job to 'back off,' at this point and time, it was up to Sawada to step down.

* * *

Sawada moseyed on into 3-D from the back door. His early morning 'hellos' were reduced to the slightest of nudges of his head as his four friends turned their heads, more somber than usual. Resting into his seat, hands holding his chin, the sly glances from his classmates confirmed Shin's prediction that, yes, 3-D knew that Tsuchida had asked Davina out.

"Hey, what's up?" Noda broke the awkward ice between the four of them and Shin.

Shin hardly moved and he barely responded, just the simple, "hmm." Uchi, Minami, Noda, and Kuma all wheezed as they looked at each other, wondering why he was so stoic. Leaning in closer subconsciously, they expected Shin to never let them see him sweat over anything.

Minami, sitting on his desk with his elbows at his knees, peered down at Shin. "Oi, Shin...you... _know_ right?"

Shin's droopy eyes met his. Judging by his friend's the impatient drumming of their fingers on their fingers and strangely cautious care for a subject they would normally protrude into, especially with Shin, he read that they were unsure of how to think of the situation without his views or objections. "I was there yesterday."

With a loud bang of his fist, Kuma angrily scolded Shin. "Nah, why didn't you stop him or say anything to him?"

Shin merely raised his eyebrows, unperturbed by the loud noise.

"This breaks the rules! No one was supposed to approach her until _after_ the midterms!" Minami whooped.

Uchi shook his head. "Anyone with half a brain and two eyes saw that Dabina-chan belongs to Shin."

"She doesn't belong to me." Shin uttered curtly and sharply through his fingers, audible even over his friend's shouts. Kuma, Uchi, Minami, Noda all turned back to Shin upon hearing his statement, trying to see any twinge that Shin was bothered. Eventually, they silently bowed their heads in thought.

Remembering that second day of Yankumi's tutoring, when Shin introduced Davina to the class. There was an obvious language barrier, but they had certain flair with each other. Every one in 3-D had since the day, made flirtatious advances with her, but to no real avail. They simply enjoyed teasing her to make her smile and blush, and partially to draw a reaction from Shin, also to no avail. Since she first timidly walked in, they all knew their chances with her were zero.

Shin and Davina didn't make sense to 3-D in the beginning, but they gradually accepted that such things weren't meant to follow rules or make sense. They just were. Watching them stroll together with their one umbrella, in the rain, landed them at that same conclusion. With Uchi, Kuma, Minami, and Noda, any girl that they truly cared for and wished to be close to, induced such nerves in their stomachs that they could hardly stand to be next to the girl to even ask for her name. Any other pretty girl, the four of them would eagerly lust after, but those _other_ girls, those few and far in between, were almost unattainable, simply because they were too shy.

Shin, in their experiences the last few years with him, was never one to openly lust after a girl, but...deep down, they thought that surely if he found someone he would pursue her.

Slowly and mutually lifting their heads, the four friends peered amongst each other and silently agreed that they would not allow for Shin to lose. Scaring and or beating up Tsuchida, unfortunately, wouldn't paint a lovely picture of them nor of Shin. Plus, Davina might think that Shin put them up to it, which is ridiculous because they could clearly think for themselves and for their friend... No, they would have to _wait_ and _see_ what develops from this little date. Gah, why did they have to wait?

* * *

Jayla and Mira leaned in from the opposite side of their table, gawking at Davina. _Wait_ , what do you _mean_ that you going on a date with a guy who isn't the one who walks you from school?

"For the last time! It's NOT a date!" Davina threw up her hands in desperation, fitting her shriek to make her friends actually listen to her instead of spitting out about why and what was wrong with her saying "yes."

"Do you even like him, Davina?" Jayla rolled her eyes, frustrated.

"Why does it matter if I do or not? It's not a date—

"Oh, don't be dumb! You replied "yes" for a reason, Jayla and I are extremely curious as to what the heck that reason is?" Mira exclaimed.

Davina grudgingly followed the insistence of her friends and reflected on her decision. She knew then when she agreed to his offer that she hadn't been interested in Tatsuya. She had turned people down before and had been able to endure the slight guilt, yet perhaps the reason she said "yes" was due to the fact that Tatsuya's tender expression was painful to see. Truthfully, she had said "yes" before she had a reason to agree.

"Weren't the two of you yesterday saying that 'I don't have a type?'" Davina said, matter-of-fact.

Jayla's eyes widened and her mouth opened to utter a reply, but paused and inhaled a breath of air to slow down the rush of words. "Davina, please tell me that you agreed to go out with this guy because you like him? Or have some interest in him?"

Davina couldn't stand to look at Jayla's serious expression nor at Mira's genuinely concerned face. Ducking her head to stare at her fork spinning in her hand, she whispered her reply, "it's not a date."

"Oh, Davina. Can't you see that...what's his name, might think that it is a date?" Mira shook her friend's arm for her to look up. "You've never been...you know...hasty like this."

"You do tend to over-think things, Davina." Jayla agreed, nodding her head at Mira's statement.

Davina leaned outwards of the table, reading both her friend's expression to determine if they really were being serious. "I can make decisions!" She cried.

"After _tons_ of hours spent thinking. You ponder through all the options, which is good in some circumstances. And you can be stubborn if you don't have the answers you want...but the point is that you made a sudden decision, on the spot. It's just unheard of, is all." Jayla added.

"If you go through with it, we'll support you. We just hope our teasing yesterday didn't push you into anything. We're sorry if it did." Mira apologized.

Davina considered Mira's apology. Had their teasing been a subconscious part of the reason why she agreed? She wouldn't blame them, though. She had forgotten to consider Mira's other statement that Tatsuya might think of it as a date. If she correctly recalled that near look of hurt when she almost rejected him, then yes, that ship had already set sail. However, her demeanor wouldn't expand beyond the 'non-date' she had mentally agreed to. To be honest, she expected Tatsuya to get bored of her outside the classroom and that would be the end of it. He was probably doing it as part of a bet or just to say that he went out with a "gaijin-girl."

"What does that other one think about it?" Jayla asked.

"Hmm? Other one?" Was Jayla referring to Shin? Davina assumed so, his blank face flashed quickly in her head. "He doesn't seem to mind." She stated simply.

Davina went back to her lunch, not watching as Jayla and Mira winked at each other.

"And you said that this boy asked you out of nowhere? As in you didn't notice his interests in you?" Mira asked, her smile totally unseen by Davina.

"It was strange," Davina uttered to her lunch, trying to scoop up some food on her fork. " I didn't see it coming at all."

To this, Jayla shook her head to Mira, causing her to control a fit of giggles. Poor Davina, they both wanted to say out loud. She _really_ didn't have a clue. They were sincerely happy for Davina, if she found someone that she would enjoy then so be it. But they wished she would let them in a little more, then maybe they could be of more help. Either way, helping Davina not be so naïve about these boys was going to be more difficult than they first expected. If only they had taken a photo of him smiling at her...but even then Davina would counter to the tune of _"he was just giving me a hard time, blah blah."_ In order to make this work, Mira and Jayla were determined to show Davina what chemistry they had seen between this other boy and her, and they would have to make it seem like she discovered it herself.

"I have to go shopping, though." Davina continued on with a new topic, snapping Jayla and Mira off their train of thought.

"I haven't been in a while and I think I need it for something different in between non-stop tutoring, school, and ballet practice." Davina uttered. "You two want to take me to Shibuya and Takeshita-dori?"

Mira and Jayla took a second to take it in and smiled at Davina. There you go, that's the Davina we know and love, they thought to themselves.

"Tonight?" Jayla suggested, already finding time after her ballet lesson.

Davina almost said "yes," but groaned. "Military welcome dinner tonight for some new family. I almost forgot. But tomorrow afternoon, after ballet, but before...you know?"

So that's why she wanted so go shopping, Mira giggled. "You wanna find something _cute_ for tomorrow?

Davina's cheeks flushed, conceiving what Mira and Jayla were concluding as preparation for her...whatchamacallit. "I just want to shop, I want something cute in my closet for a special occasion."

"But the dinner is tonight, and your date is tomorrow. What occasion are you waiting for?" Jayla said, accusingly.

A flash memory of Shin's hand in her hair and the darkness of his eyes sent shivers down her spine. She hadn't fully conceded yet that deep down she was gunning for Shin to make the highest score on the English midterm. Then maybe they could have a...whatchamacallit. Fading back into reality, her two friends were still wearing suspicious faces and were close to calling her out, so Davina answered. "I don't know yet."

* * *

Tatsuya entered 3-D with Akira and Kazuo the moment the final bell dismissed the school for the day. Most of the 3-D boys were already fishing out their textbooks, less than enthusiastic to be spending another afternoon in tutoring. Perhaps within the last week, they all had spent more time studying than...ever?

Tatsuya's eyes darted to the end of the classroom. In between the moving bodies of those going to and from their lockers, Sawada was nowhere to be found. Tatsuya's stomach tinged with jealously at the empty desk. Intelligent guesses said that Sawada was walking Davina to Shirokin. He imagined it; her smiling at him. That judging face Sawada had given Tatsuya blared in his mind and slowly began to ruin his calm composure.

He bit the inside of his cheek and fidgeted with restlessness with his focus fixed on Sawada's empty seat. Setting his bag down, he flicked the wrist of his blazer up his arm to check his watch. It was just after school and if she had just been let out... Tatsuya continued to fidget and it wasn't until he finally sat down in an idle chair did he realize the widespread glares that were produced when he entered the classroom.

The afternoon sun heavily cast down through the windows, spreading shadows across the boys' frowns. Akira and Kazuo stood closer, to create a fence near Tatsuya, no matter how small their numbers were to the rest of the class, panning their vision from left to right. The usual raucous was not even half the usual volume, merely whispers and shifty eyes. Next Sawada's desk sat his four friends—Tatsuya didn't recall nor care about their names, but of their vicious gloats, the darkness of their faces, Tatsuya couldn't bear to look away, mesmerized.

Akira and Kazuo flicked off some sweat from their temples, mouthing their calculations of the three of them versus 3-D and how long it would take before Yamaguchi-sensei came and broke it up.

Finally, Tatsuya tore his eyes away from theirs to read his watch again. Only two minutes had passed. Two painfully long minutes.

A hand patted his shoulder and Kazuo declared to him and Akira, "for Fujiyama." Akira gulped and nodded his head, seemingly relieved as if brought back down to Earth.

"For Fujiyama." Tatsuya muttered, feeling a pair of eyes beating into his back. He turned his neck and saw one of Sawada's friends his eyes like daggers. His hair was spiky, short, lighter brown, and he wore a colorful scarf. He was chewing on his thumb nail nervously when Tatsuya first turned, but he abruptly moved his hand away and swallowed as he flipped open his now ragged textbook to study.

Tatsuya suddenly heard his surname whispered amongst the murmurs in the room. Urged to say something, he was rising to his feet, when Yamaguchi-sensei, wearing a garish orange tracksuit, shuffled into the classroom, hidden behind a tall stack of new study guides.

Peaking over the guides, her eyes sparkled when she saw the 3-C boys. How nice of them to spend their Friday afternoon to help out? "Afternoon, everyone."

Silence... Strange. Yankumi set down her study guides next to her podium, scanning the tired faces of her students. She was right there with them, but she couldn't show the same exhaustion. Her spirits had to stay high, but she was unmistakably glad it was Friday. As she distributed the study guides, she peered to the back of the room, at Shin's empty desk. She checked her watch after she passed out the final stack. She hoped Shin and Davina could arrive soon, because the English lesson she was about to teach had puzzled her when she first "learned" it in high school. Auxiliary verbs and more articles. She never could really make sense of whether to use 'to' or 'for?' Davina would know from natural instinct.

Even though Yankumi would usually spot Shin leaving early to go walk Davina over to Shirokin, which she thought was quite _nice_ of him, she expected a window of five to fifteen minutes for them to arrive. By then, she had always already started the lesson. Enough to not keep the boys waiting and yet basic enough information for Yankumi to recite from the book and still wait for Davina to arrive and chime in to correct any mistakes.

Flipping open her teacher's book, she eyes rested on Noda. His determination was inspiring and his enthusiasm was undying—was it love? Yankumi smiled to herself, hiding her joy behind her book and faced away from her students as she wrote on the chalkboard. "Turn to lesson 9." She heard slight yawns and the flipping of book spines.

"Deciding between 'to' and 'for' depends on who is the beneficiary—

The back door clicked open and Yankumi recognized two pairs of soft footsteps skipping down the stairs. Tatsuya nearly jerked out of his seat to look behind. Yankumi and Tatsuya sighed in mutual relief. Sawada and Davina had arrived.

Eventually, all of the 3-D boys twisted back for a glance, then returned their attention back to Yankumi.  
Tatsuya sighed once more. Simply seeing them together made him feel silly for even allowing himself to get hyper over a few rumors. Their association with each other was no big deal, even if no one knew actually how they knew each other.

Just as Tatsuya was turning away, satisfied, something caught his attention. Slowly, his eyes drifted back. Davina was covered with a blazer much too large for her. The length went past her hips and the sleeves extended over her fingertips. What made his stomach clench was when she slowly removed the garment and returned it to Sawada with care. He whispered something to her, perhaps refusing, but she gestured a strange hair style over head—Headteacher? Blankly, Sawada took the blazer and wore his arms through the sleeves. Very faintly, maybe Tatsuya only imagined it, but Sawada smirked as Davina walked past him to the front of the class to get a study guide for herself.

Tatsuya's insides burned. Sawada had had _at least_ half an hour with Davina, what had he talked about with her? Davina was now rubbing her arms, obviously missing the blazer. Tatsuya twitched his leg restlessly, hardly hearing Yankumi.

Davina was reading through the pages, mouthing the English examples, as she always did, Tatsuya thought bitterly. Suddenly, she glanced off the page and met his gaze on the left side of the classroom. Tatsuya froze, wondering if to smile at her, nod his head, give a slight wave, _something!_ Her breathing seemed quicker and she gave him a brief acknowledging smile.

No matter how brief of an expression, Tatsuya's chest pattered happily. That smile, again, no matter how brief, was for him. Not Sawada. Only him.

His vision finally magnified and Yankumi's words were clear once more.

"Dabina-chan?" Yankumi put down her chalk.

Davina's head jerked up from the study guide, "yes, sensei?"

"Could you give us an English example not from the textbook, please?" Yankumi back away from the board, moving to give Davina space. Davina didn't respond with a "yes" but quickly went to work on the board, jotting down a few easy sentences.

"It is good _ you_take photographs. Jon gave a present _ Becky. Jon bought a present _ Becky." She recited as she wrote. Dusting the chalk off her hands, she turned around to see most of the classroom scratching their heads, mutters of "do you understand this?" spread throughout the room.

"Anyone wish to try?" Yankumi asked, arms crossed. However, most of everyone in the classroom shied behind their textbooks, wishing not to be called on. "Anyone?"

His book still folded in his hand, Noda raised his free arm. "It...is...good,"— he hesitated, licking his lips, he set down his textbook and stood to his feet. "It is good _for_ you _to_ take photographs."

"Correct?" Yankumi titled towards Davina, to which Davina smiled and nodded.

"Correct." Davina said, also now crossing her arms, exhaling in excited relief. Noda's determination was paying off.

Noda relaxed a bit, gaining a bit of confidence from his successful attempt. Licking his lips once more, "Jon gave a present _to_ Becky."

"Correct." Davina repeated, thrilled by Noda's confidence. Everyone in 3-D was captivated by Noda, the first clear indication that 3-D had a good shot to all achieve thirty points on the midterm.

After a moment of consideration, Noda whirled around and pointed his finger at the final example. "For!"

"Correct." Yankumi grinned.

The class whooped, patting Noda on the back, while he modestly turned down their praises, bowing his head and raising his arms to say _no big deal_. He could hardly fight a smile from being plastered on his face, though. Yankumi was beaming, Davina noticed, understanding why Yankumi had become a teacher. Such a proud moment it was to see someone improve!

Davina added to her notes, writing next to Noda's name that she predicted that he would absolutely surpass the thirty points needed. Slightly tilting in her chair, Davina met eyes with the bored Shin, who had previously been staring off at the windows and lockers. Contrary to what Shin had admitted to her, Davina hadn't spotted anyone she would suspect to be Fujiyama-sensei and she had kept close watch on the windows to the halls.

 _"She is beautiful."_ Shin's words rang in her head, sparking that annoying curiosity that had been secretly hiding within her. Since Shin's recitation of the events leading up to the tutoring, Davina hadn't mentioned Fujiyama, but had never stopped imagining what she looked like. Curvy, tall, red hair... A woman with such features painted in her mind...someone who Shin would think is beautiful...did that mean that Shin liked redheads?

Davina's hand slapped over her mouth in involuntary reaction to the thought, instantly as though she were worried she had spoken it out loud. Her cheeks burned as she peeked to the back of the room in between her fringe. Shin peered back at her strangely, but then his lips curved, obviously amused. His smirk was soon covered up by his fingers, with his palm supporting his chin.

Luckily, most of the sound of Davina slapping her mouth had been masked by Yankumi's projecting voice, but she still saw others glance at her awkwardly so she brushed and curtained her fringe away from her forehead, which had gotten on her face when she startled herself. She played off pretending to be only fixing her hair and seemingly everyone bought it.

Except that one pair of dark eyes from the back of the room, who still smirked behind his fingers. Davina watched him closely, his stare hadn't moved from her for a reason. Shin's hand brushed through his fringe and waved them off to the side in the exactly fashion Davina had done.

Bastard. If only thirty boys hadn't been facing her at that moment. Otherwise, she would be giving him _such_ a dirty glare. Regardless of her restrain, a pout formed on her lips. Shin breathed out a soft laugh, but managed to get the attention of his four friends who peeked over their shoulders. Shin's poker face was gone and was flush from amusement. They slowly panned in the direction of his amusement and found Davina, whose expression was lost between a pout and a smile.

How remarkable? Even at opposite ends of the classroom and with Tsuchida in that same room. Minami, Uchi, Kuma, and Noda grinned. How cute?

On the opposite side of the room, Tatsuya was blood was coiling. Such subtle movements between the two of them, so subtle he had almost missed it, but he could barely fight the jealously within. He shut his eyes in order to face away, but still couldn't get Davina's smile out of his mind. He gripped the edge of his chair, his knuckles turning white. He would stay composed, he demanded himself. After tutoring, today, something had to be done. He needed to get closer in and remove any and all competition.

* * *

Had it always been this subtle, yet obvious? It wasn't until Yankumi dismissed them for the day that Tatsuya finally let go his of chair. Flexing his rigid hand, he hadn't realized he had been clenching his chair that tightly. The entire time, he imagined little excuses to stand up and move towards Davina, yet she was all over the place and never stayed put for more than one minute. Sawada never got near her, Tatsuya relaxed with that bit of relief. But what happened or what didn't happen in the classroom didn't necessarily matter as much as what happened when they were alone, walking home.

Thankfully, most of 3-D cleared out almost instantaneously, with high anticipation for their well-earned weekend. Akira and Kazu stayed behind for a moment, already registering that Tatsuya would probably want to speak with Davina. "Call us later." Akira said to Tatsuya before he and Kazu slipped through with the 3-D crowd to the exit.

Tatsuya watched as Davina exchanged notes with Yamaguchi-sensei, as she always did after tutoring.

"I'm so sorry if I called you at a late hour!" Yankumi slapped her two hands together in front of her chest, with her head slightly bowed.

"No problem at all. It wasn't late. And you have already apologized... profusely." Davina shook her head.

She giggled as Yankumi uttered more apologies _for being such a burden_. "No, but I really am sorry, I asked everyone in the house before calling, I'm sorry, I read through the chapter in the teacher's manual _so many times_ , so I just wanted to make sure you knew I was sorry."

Davina glanced at the clutter of notes, study guides, the massive stack of books on the teacher's desk. So much work to teach a subject that wasn't even hers. Yankumi must really care for her students. Davina had had many teachers in her life, moving from school to school, yet only a hand full had similar determination and drive as Yankumi. Always dressed in a tracksuit, the teacher was always prepared for the antics of her students, even if it meant wearing casual wear instead of respectful formal wear. Davina originally thought Yankumi as a bit dorky, but she had won Davina's respect on that first day of tutoring, when she rustled with Noda's hair lovingly, when she demonstrated her undying patience with her students, and when she started yelling at them in that strange, angry dialect. Davina softly laughed to herself, recalling that particular moment.

Yankumi readjusted her bi-spectacles and caught Davina's thoughtful expression and quiet laugh. Davina wanted to openly phrase her appreciation and respect for Yankumi, but the wording would have been complex in Japanese.

"Arigatou, sensei." Davina said surely.

Yankumi stared back at her, her head slightly tilted. But eventually she smiled and nodded her head, giving Davina enough reassurance that she comprehended the underlying meaning of her statement.

Yankumi had finished packing her things, taking in how, once again, Davina was left to be alone with Sawada _and_ Tsuchida. Even with her lack of experience in... _that_ department, Yankumi could sense the tension and opposition by instinct. She had lived with mostly men all her life, after all. She could point that the competitive desire anywhere and anytime. She at least trusted Sawada not to fight, unless for good reason, but she didn't know about Tsuchida, or Davina.

All three pairs of eyes were focused on her, as if willing her out of the room. Yankumi was reluctant to leave, pausing in her footing, knowing it was irresponsible. To allow something to potentially develop or stay and only delay it? Her hand circled around the knob of the door, biting her lip. The door opened before she had fully decided, but she consoled to stay in near proximity. Just in case...

Sawada was picking at his nails, without a care in the world, Tatsuya scrutinized. It was just the three of them now.

Davina tended to her materials, her own breathing and the zipping of her bag piercingly loud in the classroom. Usually, 3-D would be so talkative, she could hardly think, yet her own footsteps were echoing as she turned around to face Shin and Tatsuya. What was Tatsuya still doing in the classroom? Did he have a few comments or concerns for their...thing on Saturday?

"How are you, Tatsuya?" She asked, still standing near Yankumi's podium as if on neutral ground.

"Just fine, thank you." He answered. He sneaked a glance at Sawada then at Davina. "Shouldn't we go home?"

Even Shin lifted his head at that question. Suddenly it dawned on Davina: Tatsuya wanted to walk with her...

She gulped, searching for a good flow of words...but say what exactly? Technically, since he was supposed to take her out tomorrow, wasn't it protocol? Davina bit her lip, trying to form a sentence in her head.

"Sure, let's get going." Shin said for her, rising to his feet. She was surprised at Shin's speedy reply, almost as if he didn't care. Tatsuya frowned at the floor, muttering in agreement, straightening to his feet.

Now with both of them standing, Davina was frozen in her spot. Now both of them were vying for her leave with them. She had no choice. She gulped again before brisking down the aisle of desks, hoping to meet glances at Shin, however he was turned in the other direction as she passed him.

Behind her, Tatsuya glowered at Shin, their faces panning with each other as they crossed paths. Shin's poker face was steady, but enough so that Tatsuya figured it to be a match to his glare.

As the door shut behind Davina, she turned back, expecting either Shin or Tatsuya to walk through with the other following. Davina bit her lip and looked away as the door opened, also crossing her arms almost as though to fight the excitement and nerves circulating in her blood.

I can't believe this is happening, Davina mentally yelled to herself as she gazed up to her left at Shin then to her right at Tatsuya. She strolled in between them, wondering if the two of them were just too cool and proud to admit to the obvious awkwardness that was flowing between the three of them.

All the way to the entrance of Shirokin, Davina concealed glances at both Shin and Tatsuya for any evidence that she hadn't merely imagined the tension. Tatsuya would probably figure Shin to be the third wheel while it was vice versa for Shin. She had walked with Shin's friends and Yankumi only a few days ago and didn't remember feeling so uneasy being a crowd.

Her destination was Shinjuku for her Friday ballet lesson. She looked up at Tatsuya, wondering if he too would walk her home after her lesson, just like how Shin always did.

With dozens of ideas bouncing in her head, Davina continuously rubbed her arms to channel out the excitement building with her. Shin must have dubbed this as a sign of cold so he slipped off his blazer and draped it on her shoulders.

Davina's shoulders tensed up when the fabric touched her back. Oh, just Shin's blazer. She muttered a quick courtesy thank you. Why was she so jumpy?

Tatsuya grimaced at the grass, pining if whether or not to follow his urge to throw Sawada's blazer back at him and give Davina his instead. It would be too crude, he ultimately decided. "If Davina is cold, she can have mine."

Davina's ears piped up. "Hmm?" She was internally begging that she had misheard...

"If Davina is cold, she may have _my_ blazer." Tatsuya then carefully removed his own blazer and held it out for Davina to take. Davina stared at the blazer and Tatsuya's hand, unconsciously clenching Shin's blazer. In the corner of her eye, she looked to see if Shin was at all offended. His poker face was going strange, but he was gazing down at Davina, trying to determine which blazer she would choose.

Davian didn't have much time to decide. Surrendering to the pressure, Davina nonchalantly shrugged off Shin's blazer and wore her arms through Tatsuya's. She held out her hand for Shin to take back his blazer, her head slightly bowed to hide her disappointment.

Tatsuya didn't bother to read Shin's face, still same old poker face, yet he could barely contain his glee. He had put Sawada into his place and perhaps, Tatsuya grinned, he would take it as a note for future reference.

Before Tatsuya's giddy triumph could settle, he noticed Sawada's subtle gesture. As Sawada took back his blazer, his hand slowly, gently, and _purposely_ graced along Davina's, sending an unmistakable shudder through her and a slight pink in her cheeks.

Davina peeked to Tatsuya, blushing as if she were guilty and caught red-handed. Tatsuya's blood coiled again; he got the girl into his blazer, so why did he feel like he was still losing to Sawada?

* * *

Davina grudgingly decided that she would skip eating dinner before her ballet lesson, even if just to end what was possibly the most painfully awkward moment in her life. Her stomach grumbled in protest, but she didn't dare imagine sitting at the table with Shin and Tatsuya. Especially after finding two seats on the train and Tatsuya practically demand that he sit next to her, even though Shin was the first on the train. She pictured Tatsuya throwing the same argument if she sat in a booth at a restaurant. And god, what if he insisted on paying? No, she would have to eat later at the ceremony, if she made it on time, which was unlikely.

Walking with them as bad enough. Shin hadn't spoken two words and Tatsuya talked about the weather, to which Davina offered the necessary responses. The freaking _weather_ for goodness' sake. Dread was slowly filling her for her... get together with him tomorrow. After the weather, what else could he talk about? Davina mentally slapped herself before dumbing herself down to come up with a pathetic topic.

She had to admit that without Shin, she would have been just a nervous as Tatsuya was. The idea of tomorrow and what it had in store even awakened the nerves in her stomach.

Crossing the final street in busy Shibuya, Davina sighed in relief at the ballet studio's respective sign. Tatsuya read the kanji out loud to himself then nodded his head as if saying _ah, definitely a dance studio._ Just a dance studio? Ha! If only the boys knew how many stars, domestic and international, were given birth in this little studio! Davina didn't think to explain it to either of them. It's a dancer's thing.

With her back facing the door, she watched as Shin and Tatsuya glanced around them, taking in the busy, urban atmosphere. Davina paused before smiling and gave her thanks. "Thank you for escorting me, I'll see you both later." With that, Davina spun on her heel and entered the studio, before Tatsuya could reply with his goodbye.

His mouth hung open, dissatisfied that Davina left so abruptly. Sawada, however, shrugged with an exhale of breath, and turned around, fists in his blazer, without saying a damn word. Tatsuya glowered at Sawada's back until he was halfway down the street. He eventually sighed and read the sign of Davina's dance studio again. He recalled seeing her dance just the prior day and somewhere in that studio she would dance again. At that thought, Tatsuya smiled with excitement for their date on Saturday and began, with a slight jump in his step, towards home.

* * *

Davina's normally short Friday lesson seemed to extend for eternity as her stomach growled. Even as Jayla offered her sympathies, Davina knew that even if she ran nonstop to Hardy Barracks after her lesson, the food would probably be all eaten up. Davina had luckily remembered to bring laced shoes so she could at least speed walk to the stations.

Power walking was out the door once she got on the cramped train. She fluttered a quick wave goodbye to Jayla as she stepped off at Minato. As Davina staggered up the stairs, the projector yelled behind her, "MINATO, MINATO!"

Her head ducked as she climbed the numerous steps, her head growing dizzy from remembering that she needed to change into something formal to go to a stupid ceremony she absolutely wanted no part in. And what if she missed the damn thing and just went somewhere to eat instead? Relaxing at cafe was too tempting. After the final steps, Davina scanned the area for Shin, and in jest, for Tatsuya. After his behavior earlier that day, she wouldn't be surprised if he appeared, wishing to take her home.

No sign of anyone yet. Strange... Pulling off to the side of the station, near a bench, away from the crowds, Davina set her bag on the bench and searched for her mobile phone. Scrolling through her numbers, she scoffed humorlessly when she found that Shin's and Tatsuya's number were right next to each other in the list. How perfect.

She dialed Shin's number. As the number beeped, Davina planned to ask Shin if he were already nearby and if not, then just tell him to stay put. She was in a hurry anyway. The call was answered.

"Hello? Shin?" Davina stuck a finger into her empty ear, trying to make out the noises coming from his side, while turning and scotching her bag aside to sit on the bench.

"You hungry?" Said a deep timbre voice on the other side.

Davina rolled her eyes. "I'm _starving_ for your information!" She exclaimed. Smart ass. Just then the phone call went dead. Davina pursed her lips, checking her phone to make sure reception wasn't lost. Her phone was fine. Did he hang up on her again?

In the top half of her vision, a person with familiar dark trousers and blazer approached her and the bench she was resting on. Before she could even register the person being Shin, the young man took a large bite from a rice ball in one hand, while holding out a neatly packaged rice ball in the other.

Davina's eyes were fixed on the rice ball, unsure if he really wanted her to have it. Before she could even ask, Shin softly grasped her hand and set the rice ball in her palm. The same delighted shudders from earlier rippled through her. Her heart pattered even when his hand agilely slipped from her hand and back to his side. Oh my goodness, Shin, I could kiss you right now, she imagined herself wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek in front of all of Minato. She blushed at the thought.

Davina stared at the rice ball in her hand, still trying to some to her senses that were disheveled by Shin's skin against hers. Finally, the impatient growl of her stomach abruptly yanked her back into reality. Ripping open the wrapping, she forgot to read which flavor it was and simply took a satisfying mouthful of rice and seaweed, her eyes shutting with pleasure to the smell of fish. " _Oh, so good._ Thank you, Shin. Oh thank god, it's not that nasty pickle, sour plum flavor." Too absorbed with enjoying her food, Davina didn't noticed Shin's soft smile and quiet little laugh as he sat down next to her, also taking a bite from his onigiri.

He could tell she was excited by how she was stammering off in English. Her mood was lifted by ten times. Watching Davina enjoy a simple onigiri reminded him of when he ordered some tea and cheap ramen and she was gathering attention by how much she appreciated the meal. Sitting next to her, Shin noticed he was receiving the same gaping expressions that perfectly matched those from that wretched night.

Walking with Davina every night that week had effectively desensitized Shin to the stares, but every once in a while, he would stare back as if to remind people that it wasn't polite to gawk. Davina never paid mind to it, at least when she was with him. That satisfied him a bit.

Davina was already half finished with her onigiri, happily humming to herself carelessly. Shin glanced at her before taking another bite. This was probably his favorite kind of Davina: Happy Davina. And not just that fake happy she plastered around to seem in control, the genuine kind of happy she expressed when she thought no one was looking.

Cars and people whisked passed by them, the sun in the west, off in the distance, just about to set. Still humming, she checked her watch. The ceremony had already started, but Davina couldn't be bothered to move. The past week had been so out of the ordinary that Davina, now looking back, couldn't imagine how she survived. Sitting there, on that bench, with Shin, eating a delicious rice ball, enjoying some rather nice weather; she had earned it and she was going to enjoy every second of it.


	9. Not A Date

Davina nibbled the second half of her onigiri and chewed the food slowly. A guilty smile fumbled its way onto her chewing lips from knowing that she should be hurrying to the ceremony rather than enjoying the urban scenery. The sky was mixed of deep blues and oranges with the sun setting behind the skyscrapers and Tokyo Tower overlooking Tokyo bay. Businessmen were brisking in large groups to the metro station, while young people were climbing up the steps and exclaiming excitedly to themselves about going to Shiba park.

Next to her, Shin was chewing his last bite and crumbling the wrapping into a pile to throw away. She glanced at Shin's trash and then down to her hand, at the bits of fish-filling covered with rice, and seaweed compacted into what used to be a neat triangle. They hadn't spoken for quite some time, simply enjoying not being in a rush or feeling the pressure of meeting someone or heading to some place. "You know, Shin..."

"Hmm?" Shin moaned as he stuffed his trash into his pocket, tilting his head, his hair flipping over his brow.

"There aren't any trash cans in Japan." Davina said, matter-of-fact.

Shin's indifferent face cracked in confusion at first then a subtle smile brightened his expression. "There are plenty—

"In homes maybe, but public-wise? Absolutely none!" Davina chuckled as she swallowed her last bite of onigiri. "There are so many in America, but you can't find one in Japan to save your life." She shifted on the bench to face Shin. Shin fidgeted, he had caught a sweet scent of her hair and could sense of closeness of her body to his. Briefly frozen, he was unable to pick whether to face Davina while she spoke to him or stare at the ground or off into space. Davina, on the other hand, was suppressing laughter and hadn't caught Shin's new unease with her presence focused on him.

"Once, Jayla, Mira, and I bought food and had lunch in a park. After we were done with our food, we couldn't find a place to toss the trash, so we had to carry the trash with us _for the rest of the day._ " Davina laughed at the memories of her friends wondering around the city, stomachs hurting from laughter. They ran up and down the streets for a bin, but zero luck. They asked shop owners, who stared at them, confused, "trash bin? No, I'm afraid, I don't know where one is." Their cheeks would then burn bright red from fighting to calm their amusement. They would thank the shop owner then scram away, trying to quieten their obnoxious giggles.

Shin managed to watch Davina's mirth as she stared on at the busy crosswalk. It was overwhelming to take in her happy expression while she was so close to him, but it proved to be difficult to peer away.

Mira and Jayla. Shin focused on Davina saying their names for the sake of memory. The two girls from Davina's high school. The chipper ones. "They would like to meet you." Davina had once admitted to Shin. Before, when Davina first told him that, he had allowed himself to be flattered by their unearned interest. Yet now, with the possibility of actually meeting them a reality, he couldn't imagine impressing them enough with his simple clothes and unideal reputation for their approval.

Thinking back, Shin knew firsthand how girls influenced their friends. It didn't matter to Shin if them or anyone else disapproved of him, but he could bet that Davina's opinion would be more fickle and persuadable. What would they think about Tsuchida? Shin blinked and scratched the back of his neck, bending his head away from Davina's eyes, trying to ignore and mask his dislike of the idea that her friends might like Tsuchida.

Davina was now slowly crumbling up her trash, grudgingly accepting that she had let enough time pass. She was already late for the welcoming ceremony, not that she cared that much, but her parents wanted her to be present. Weakly standing, she felt a cold rush down her back and through her torso. As her hand squeezed the straps of her bag, she thought of Tatsuya's uniform jacket. She pictured the garment mashed in her bag, draped over her dance shoes and clothes.

Remembering the feel of the garment on her shoulders had refreshed the jumpiness from the awkward walk to Shinjuku with Shin and Tatsuya. The texture of jacket against her skin had felt so rough and starchy, completely different from softness of Shin's... Deep down, she had been sorry, for herself and Shin, to return Shin's jacket to him. The pit of her stomach always sunk when she returned his jacket, especially at night when he was to leave her at the gates of the Hardy Barracks to go home. She wouldn't wear Tatsuya's again; she would return the starchy jacket to him on Saturday. The unpleasant flips in her stomach were so unbearable that she would rather suffer through the chilly night than wear it again.

Shin's mobile rang behind her ear and Davina bent back as Shin extended the antenna and accepted the call. "Moshi moshi, Kuma. No, no trouble. No, Tsuchida is not here with us. Yes, I am sure." Shin, whose eyes had been fixed at the ground, suddenly stared up at Davina, causing Davina narrow in, wondering if she were brought up in the conversation. Shin lowered his voice and darted his eyes away. "It's not like that. No, she probably wouldn't want to. Listen, I'll be there after I drop her off. Bye." With a swift motion, he hung up the call, inhaling a sigh of slight agitation.

A rush of guilt came over Davina. "I'm sorry..." she bit her lip, attempting to formulate a decent apology in Japanese. Shin lifted his head, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. She had almost said that she was sorry to have selfishly kept him while he had other plans...but she didn't wish it to mean that she was rudely eavesdropping.

Shin slowly stood, facing Davina seriously. Davina unconsciously leaned back in her shoes, unable to take in the intensity of his gaze. Shin was a serious person by nature, as she had observed from her experience with him, so to have him focus that stoic severity all on her was intimidating. Her breathing grew shallow as she met his strong gaze, mentally fighting the tempting urge to let her knees give in. Those stupid butterflies pattered excitedly in her stomach, making her legs restless even as she concentrated her hardest to remain still. It was frightening to register how Shin's staring could reduce someone of such physical strength and balance as a ballerina into wobbly gelatin. Worried that her awkwardness was obvious, she inhaled a deep breath to sooth the nerves in her stomach and turned her neck away to watch the dense crowds as the filed down to the station stairs and pretend to be casual.

Shin turned away as well, Davina noticed from the corner of her vision, the intensity of his expression slowly diminishing. "Don't worry about them. They know who I'm with and what I am doing. They just get curious sometimes." He uttered while watching pavement and ongoing traffic.

Davina finally nodded, crossing her arms as the ocean-scented wind played with the ends of her hair. The salty smell whisked by them. Davina shut her eyes for a moment, breathing in the calming, ocean air. _"Don't worry about them."_ Shin had said. He really can read my mind, can he? Davina thought to herself.

When Davina reopened her eyes, Shin's hand was out in front of her and was grasping his school jacket by the collar. She had been folding her arms again, and perhaps he took that as indication that she was chilly again. She took the garment, allowing Shin's fingers to gently brush against hers, and carefully wrapped the jacket around her. Quickly, she was hugged by the familiar softness and texture while charmed by Shin's scent. Inside the sleeve, her thumb rubbed where his fingers had pressed on her skin.

"If you're cold, you can _always_ wear mine." Shin stated, having seen Davina's soft smile and fragility from taking his jacket. Davina wrapped blazer around her waist with her arms and stared back at Shin, deeply moved by his raw words.

She took in Shin's composure; even though he was in a casual stance, hands in pocket, slightly slouched, she would never doubt his seriousness. Perhaps he understood what effect his seriousness had on her. He had also probably seen her rush into her dance studio without returning Tatsuya's jacket to him. So that probably meant that he knew that Tatsuya's jacket was still with her, yet he still gave her his jacket.

Maybe he really could read her mind.

* * *

Davina exited the elevator, closing her compact, satisfied with her make-up. Her hair was tied into a tight ponytail high on her head, while she was sporting a royal blue dress with a thick, black belt on her waist. She had spent more than a few minutes trying to pick between her flats and high heels. Flats would have been too informal and casual, while high-heels would have been too formal, not to mention her feet were still tender from injuries. Eventually, she chose to wear two-inch high-heeled shoes for sake of not knowing of another instance where she would get to wear a high-heeled shoe in Japan. Sticking a couple of new bandages on her sores would hold back the pain as long as she wasn't required to stand for very long or dance.

The halls were mostly empty except for the few Japanese workers to which Davina uttered her usual "konbanwa." _Good evening._ The Japanese workers would always lift their heads from their work and nod their heads to reply with "konbanwa." The Americans were all probably in the ceremonial ballroom.

Davina yawned as she approached the tall wooden doors that led to the ceremonial ballroom. She pressed her ear to the doors to figure if it were safe to enter without interrupting an address or speech and if she could slink on in without many people noticing. Lots of chatter slipped through the cracks; dinner must have been served.

Davina held the knob and pushed the heavy door just enough so that she could barely slink through. One of the guards at the door immediately reached for the door so Davina could comfortably enter. The ballroom was scattered with small circular tables, seated with important military officers and their families. Power walking, Davina searched aimlessly for her parents. Scanning from front to back, it was just a mess of people. After a few more seconds of looking stupid, Davina imagined, she located her father and mother sitting towards the front left. Her mother gave a little wave of her hand, while her father was happily engaged with conversing with who Davina assumed to be the new officer.

Her mother acknowledged Davina as she eased into a seat, moving her toes to allow the bandages to breathe. Most of the table was cleared for bread, cheese, dessert, and tea, except for a single plate of grilled chicken, rice, and a small salad. "You're lucky, Davina." Her mother chimed next to her. "Just seconds before I saw you, a nice waiter asked if it were alright if he cleared up this plate. I said 'no, let's give her a few. Surely, she is hurrying to get here.'" She gave Davina a sarcastic batting of her eye lashes.

Davina remembered the pleasurable guilt from sitting with Shin, not feeling an ounce of regret. "The other girls were lousy today so Madame made us all stay later. I hurried here after my class was finished. And I think I look quite fine, especially when you factor in the little amount of time I had to prepare." Davina responded, before taking a sip from her glass of water.

"Blame your father for your and my lack of time to prepare." Her mother muttered causing Davina's father to lift his head away from the conversation with the new sergeant.

"Oh, excuse me Sergeant Williams, seems that my daughter has finally arrived, so you two may be introduced." Both Davina and the new sergeant stood and held out their right hands for greeting. "Davina, this is Sergeant Williams, Sergeant Williams, this is Davina, my only daughter."

The new sergeant appeared to be of similar age to her father: graying hair, soft eyes, wrinkles around his smile. In a matter of a few seconds, Davina could already see that the new sergeant held himself with the same authority and genuine demand for respect as her father. Davina gave a courtesy smile and shook the sergeant's hand strongly. "Hello, I'm Davina Summons, nice to meet you sergeant."

The sergeant gave a closed-mouth smile as his hand returned to his side. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He said with a significant Southern drawl. The sergeant eyed Davina from head to toe, in the same manner as her father did with everyone he had just met. After a pause, the sergeant continued, "if you father told me correctly, you're attending the American high school in Japan, yes?"—Davina's father nodded his head in acknowledgment—"How do you find it?"

Davina licked her lips, feeling her father's powerful gaze over her to compose herself well in front of the new sergeant. "It's an American high school in Japan. They understand the usual pathway of their students as most return to the US for college, so they work very hard to prepare for that. They host the SATs, ACTs, advanced placement exams, etc. Many students, meanwhile, do stay in Japan to attend university. They have their own special tutors to prepare students for those hefty entrance exams."

Sergeant Williams laughed, winning a smile from Sergeant Summons. "Wonderful! Hopefully my son will take well to ASIJ. Speaking of Sam, Margaret"—Sergeant looked down to his brunette wife sitting next to him who had been conversing with the couple next to her—"where did Sam run off to?"

The woman, twisted away from her conversation, adjusted her wrap and quickly scanned the ballroom. "He left for a while to introduce himself to everyone, but I didn't see where he ran off to."

"Davina," Her mother whispered to her from behind. "Could you pick me up another drink? Just some more tea and get some for yourself too. The bar in the back will heat some for you."

"Yes, Ma." Davina pushed in her chair and circled around the assorted tables. The bar was lit by yellowing lightening, which reminded Davina of her dance studio and was remarkably silent in relation to the rest of the ballroom. Peace and quiet. Her back relaxed as she sat on one of the stools and ordered the tea from a waiter who was cleaning a glass with a wet cloth. She stared absentmindedly at the dirty blenders, massive buckets of ice, cola dispensers, cabinets full of bottles of wine and hard liquor, and the rest of the bar, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion come over her.

The very least that Davina was planning to do tomorrow was return Tatsuya's jacket to him. Not as an aggressive gesture, he did need it to wear to school after all, but a genuinely grateful one. She still had no feelings towards Tatsuya, but maybe they could at least be friends. She decided, staring at the frozen fruit used to make smoothies, that she would appreciate having a native Japanese friend, since most of those at her school were so shy when she first arrived and were a bit clique-ish as most of them just hung out with other Japanese students. She didn't blame them, her Japanese wasn't so good, nor was their English.

If her and Tatsuya could be friends, then maybe the tension between him and Shin would disappear. Recalling the ridiculous events from earlier that day, Davina fought the urge to cringe while sitting at the bar. Why had Tatsuya been so nasty to Shin? Perhaps Tatsuya interpreted Shin's protectiveness as romantic advances. Davina rested her head on her palm with her elbow on the bar. The thought of Shin pursuing her seemed ludicrous to her, how could Tatsuya conceive of such a thing? Of course, she would be able to see if Shin was interested in her, right?

"Hiding away from the party?" Whispered a Southern voice next to Davina.

She let out a soft groan. Who ruined her well-earned peace and quiet?

She turned to her head towards the direction of the voice and saw a male stranger in military uniform. The Southern drawl was the same accent as Sergeant Williams. The teenage boy standing next to her had to be his son. Short spiky brown hair, dark eyes, and slightly round face, Davina could imagine he was about her age or older, especially if he was to be enrolled at ASIJ according to his father.

He set his empty glass on the bar and sat in the seat inches to the left of hers. Davina couldn't help but notice that all the rest of the stools were free.

"Have you been an army brat for long?" His words were slurred with an unashamed, American-Southern accent, confirming Davina's identifying him as Sergeant Williams' son. One of the barmen took his soda and refilled it. He grasped the glass but paused for Davina to speak before taking a sip.

Davina turned her eyes back to the dirty blenders. "My family have always been in the military, both sides, why?"

The boy seemed taken aback by Davina's bluntness, nearly choking on his soda, but he still managed to smile. "I apologize, what I should have asked is if you have been in Japan for long?"

"Long enough to express my most basic needs and emotions in Japanese and know most of everyone in this room by first and last name. But that is all due to my father. Again, why you ask?"

The Southern boy's smile grew bigger and he laughed. "Your father is Sergeant Summons right? He is a cool guy. My father has warmed up to him already and if you knew him like I do, you would know what that means." Both Davina and the boy looked back at their respective fathers conversing. Davina was empathetic to the boy's assertion that his father was a difficult person to impress. Her father's opinion on people was nearly impossible to predict, other than military folk that is. Even if her father was not on the best of terms with a military officer, he always gave him tremendous respect for understanding and loyalty to the service.

"You're Sergeant Williams' son, right?" Davina muttered finally.

The boy immediately turned back to her and held out his hand. "I beg your pardon for my rudeness, I didn't introduce myself. Samuel Williams. Or Sam-for short."

Davina took his hand in hers and gingerly shook with a simper. "Davina Summons. Daughter of sergeant Summons." She pulled a loose piece of hair to her ear and adjusted her earring, then noticed the boy fixed on her. She suddenly turned to him and he immediately switched his attention away, slightly blushing. He laughed at himself, unabashedly. "That probably means that you don't socialize with the others on the base, don't you?" The boy referred, with a circle-motion of his arm, to the other families sitting at the tables.

Davina took a moment to scan the smartly decorated room, recalling the instances where she was originally introduced to the other daughters of the base. Interestingly, she had meet most of them, if not all of them in that same ballroom. Most of them were out of her age-range and the rest weren't empathetic to her dreams of doing ballet and attended different schools. They all had so many interests that they conflicted with their career plans, not that Davina ever understood not knowing what she wanted to become. They would often greet each other in the halls if they ran into each other, but that's where the interaction ended. Davina had liked one girl in particular named Anita, but she was a senior and about to leave for Washington state for college. Otherwise, she had once heard whispers that she didn't want to talk to anyone because her father was a higher ranking sergeant, which was not true. Davina then saw that Sam was still waiting for a reply, so she compressed her thoughts into words.

"Not because I don't like them, but we are all of different age, plus I'm busy most of the time."

Sam sympathetically nodded his head. "Oh, schooling?"

" _Ballet._ "

"Miss?" One of the barmen uttered to Davina. "If you wish, I can deliver the tea to your table."

Davina pressed her hands on the table, motioning she was about to stand up. "Please, the farthest table to the left." The barman set the two cups with sides of sugar and milk to a tray and brisked towards the table.

The bandages in her toes were squished as Davina straightened. She hid a face of grimace as her weight pushed her feet into her heels uncomfortably against her sores. She remained composed as she bid farewell to Sam. "I suppose I'll see you at school."

Sam's eyes were fixed on Davina and normally she would have been disgusted by the obvious staring, but Sam's intentions didn't feel, deep down, to be lustful. There was something sort of patiently sweet about him, almost naïve, but sweet nonetheless. Usually if Davina was as tired and as a result, sour with everyone as she had just been with him, they would openly express their dislike. However, he had laughed at himself and had smiled at her. She could see already that he had a certain interest in her, judging by his patience with her and the fact that there were plenty of other girls he could have introduced himself to who would have been nicer for the fact they had had more sleep.

Eventually, his brown set of eyes met hers and he smiled once more. "See you Monday morning, Ms. Summons."

_Ms. Summons_

The title made her feel old, Davina thought as she and her parents rode the elevator up to their hall. Her legs and feet were officially gelatin and now that it was just her parents, she groaned to them about the pain in her shoes. "I cannot wait for a nice, hot bath."

"I wish you had arrived sooner, Davina. You could have talked with Sergeant Williams more" Her father uttered, half seriously, half humorously in essence of his enjoyment of meeting the Williams family.

Davina leaned against the bar in the elevator when they reached their hall with a _ding!_ of the bell. "Ballet ran late, dad, I hurried as fast as I could." She fibbed, not really caring that ballet had been dismissed early and she could have been at the ceremony almost an hour earlier. Like she was going to tell her parents that?

She kicked off her heels as soon as the key turned in the door. Her toenails were painful with pressure and the fresh moisture on her feet informed her that her sores were reopened.

Davina's mother bid her goodnight to her and her father. Davina's father stretched his legs out and turned on the late night news with an American newspaper in his lap. "Listening to the Japanese news helps improve my Japanese and the newspaper tells me what they are talking about so I can follow along," he had told Davina when she had asked once. She hadn't found the answer satisfactory, but she had accepted.

Shutting the door and inhaling a deep breath, Davina closed her eyes and leaned all her weight against the door with her hand pressed tightly on the knob for support. She didn't count how long she stood there, but when she opened her eyes again, she yawn more tiredly than before. Thank god it was Friday.

Letting down her hair and walking over to grab a towel, Davina's shin hit against her ballet bag. Her old pair of Pointe shoes had finally given out that prior evening ballet class, so she unzipped the duffel and removed two dirty Pointe shoes. Examining the shoes as the heels hung hooked from two fingers, Davina imagined that someone who didn't understand ballet wouldn't ever guess that she had only owned those shoes for barely a month. Hell, Davina herself still had regular shoes a few years old that were in better condition than those almost-month-old Pointe shoes. They had also lasted a good while in comparison to her _other_ Pointe shoes...

As Davina reached in her dresser to store the old shoes, her eyes caught Tatsuya's jacket folded in her duffel. In her exhaustion, she had almost forgotten it was there. In order to remember taking it with her on her supposed date with Tatsuya, she needed to remove it from the dance bag.

She carefully set the nicely folded jacket next to her laptop on her desk. It was strange to see it there among her things. The garment looked so simple, but Davina wondered how two identical copies of a blazer could produce two polar opposite reactions from her. Sure, she could factor in that she was more comfortable with Shin, but actually wearing the two blazers had caused two different physical reactions. She could not believe the bliss and delight she experienced when wearing Shin's and the discomfort and nervousness when she wore Tatsuya's.

In frustration and exhaustion, Davina weakly kicked her duffel. No more. She was tired, tired, _tired!_ In the split second that it took Davina to shove her bag away, grab her towel, and head for the shower, she reassured herself that the following evening she will make progress in realizing her own comfort with Tatsuya as she had gained with Shin. Tatsuya deserved that same chance as Shin and he had as much potential as Shin, and perhaps more if he played his cards right.

* * *

Davina squint her eyes against the bright sun as Mira and Jayla surrounded her as they strolled onto Takeshitadori. Saturday afternoons in Harajuku were expected to be jam-packed, but for the fact that it was sunny, the intensity of the crowds were exponential in comparison. The crowds still didn't deter the girls from merrily continuing with their plans for afternoon shopping.

Jayla and Mira noticed their friend was more withdrawn than usual, biting that pesky lip of hers whenever they came across anything they remotely liked in the stores. They knew from experience the nerves and hesitance of preparing for a date—or in Davina's case whatever she called it. They knew without asking, but were going to ask any way for the sake of their friend opening up.

Mira set the hanger of the skirt she was going to purchase next to Davina's dressing room. She checked her watch and tapped her foot. Davina normally was quick to come out and show them different outfits, but since Davina shut the curtain, she hadn't come out nor uttered a single word. Mira decided to wait for Jayla to finish changing before approaching Davina for the sake of buying her more time. Mira leaned on the wall, next to her skirt. She heard Jayla's words in her head addressed to her after lunch the previous day at school, "I'm not worried at all about Davina dealing with the nerves that she has about these guys, _but!_ I am worried that she will over think the situation and overlook what's in front of her."

Davina stood in the romantic-styled dressing room, smoothing out the dress she was trying on. Knee-length, very pale pink, almost white with a hem of lacy flowers around her thighs, thin sleeves. The dress by itself would be too light to wear for the cool evening. She had seen a scarf and or a white cardigan that could be worn to stay warm.

Davina loved the dress; she would definitely buy it, but for her date—err whatever tonight with Tatsuya, she didn't want to wear it. The dress was gorgeous and looked lovely on her, but she was unable to wrap her head around Tatsuya seeing it—

"Is everything a-ok in there, Davina?" Mira asked, her shadow on the curtain. Jayla's figure slid next to Mira as her hand grabbed the cloth and yanked it aside, regardless of knowing if Davina was dressed or not.

Before uttering another word, both of them gasped when they saw Davina. "Oh my god, Davina! It's beautiful!" Mira said as her and Jayla excitedly surrounded Davina and stared back at her reflection in the full-length mirror.

"Are you sure?" Davina bashfully asked. "Are you sure it's not just the warm lighting?" She remembered the bar counter from the night before and Sam's personal insistence of sitting next to her when all other seats were available.

"Absolutely! Without a shred of doubt!" Jayla's voice brought Davina back to reality. "This is what you are wearing for tonight." Jayla exclaimed, beaming. "Normally, I would suggest against a fiery-red headed beauty"—she nudged Davina playfully on the elbow—"from wearing something with a pale pink scheme, but...I don't know how to describe it, creamy, white-ish, pink-ish, the color is perfect for you." She held up an 'ok' gesture with her hand.

"Agreed, you're going to 'wow' in this dress." Mira smiled at Davina's reflection.

Davina munched up her face, positioning in the dress, trying to imagine herself with Tatsuya while wearing the dress. She couldn't do it. She didn't want _him_ to see her in the dress. Jayla's and Mira's beaming smiles slowly dimmed as they watched Davina stare off at her reflection, her fingers picking at the flowers on the hemming. Did she not like the dress? How could she not? What was wrong with it?

"Is it your hair?" Jayla spoke up suddenly, her voice a little high in pitch. "Try it down.

Her hair was still in a tight bun, so when Jayla pulled on the hair-tie, Davina's red tresses waved down her neck and back. Tying her hair up had given her usually straight hair a kink, so as Davina tilted and leaned in the dress, she figured that she should wear her hair curly for the outfit. Jayla and Mira were even more baffled by Davina's lack of reaction. They knew her style and were beyond certain that, normally, she would already be purchasing the dress with giddy excitement in sharing her plans to wear it. But Davina was unmoved. Surely, especially with her hair down, Davina could see how wonderfully she could wear the dress. How could she not realize about lovely she looked?

Davina's fingers twirled a few locks of hair, picturing little ringlets she could spend hours styling in. But...deep down she didn't want to wear her hair curly for Tatsuya. She simply would not wear this dress to see him that night. She bit her lip, then noticed Jayla's and Mira's worry and slight confusion.

"Don't get me wrong! I love this dress." Davina uttered shrilly. She fingered the sleeves and then smoothed out her silhouette. She remembered grimly Tatsuya's rudeness to Shin, the embarrassment she endured the previous day and Shin's intimidating gaze that made her lean back in her shoes even in the dressing room. She fought back a smile at the immediate thought of wearing the dress while in the warmth of Shin's blazer, not Tatsuya's. "But for tonight...it's not...right. Not for Tatsuya." She bit her tongue after she muttered the last statement, hoping Mira and Jayla hadn't heard, but their soft smirks told her she had been caught.

" _So,_ you don't want to wear this dress tonight. _So,_ that means you're saving it." Jayla crossed her arms, saying her words slowly, her smirk so subtle but definite on her lips. "Not for Tatsuya, but _something_ special."

Davina sighed and nodded, shrugging off the anticipation that had gathered from Jayla's and Mira's close examination. Their smirking hadn't appeased her either. Perhaps they were more nervous about that night than she was. Decidedly, she slipped off her shoes to begin changing so she could purchase the dress.

"Mira, are you still getting that ruffled skirt?" Davina asked to move on to a different subject, gathering her hair to tie up again.

"Yes, and Jayla's getting the blouse. We'll meet up at the counter."

The two girls pulled the curtain aside, but just as they exited the dressing room, they turned to Davina.

" _So,_ she's saving it, she says." Jayla nudged to Mira, now barely able to stop the giggles.

"Saving it for some _one_ special!" Mira teased as Davina glared at the both of them and yanked the curtain closed. She heard her two friend's chuckles move away as their shadows faded off in the distance.

She stood by herself in the warm lighting with no haste to meet her friends and do more shopping. The idea in her head made Davina so jumpy that she was embarrassed to even think it: saving the dress so that Shin could see it. She was sure that was who her friends were referring to when they had teased her. She truly doubted that Shin could care about a dress, but Davina only wanted to wear it for him. The dress was far too special to wear for just any occasion. Shin was far too special—Davina slapped her blushing cheeks to cover them as though someone were watching.

She slipped off the dress and wore her legs through her trousers. The expression she saw in her reflection was not familiar to her. Such awkward nerves. She really needed to get a grip of herself. She was stronger than this.

* * *

The world's most busiest crosswalk was alive with what appeared to be hundreds of people crossing to opposite ends of the walk. The sun still shined brightly to the west behind Davina as she tapped her foot to match the jumpy beans in her stomach.

Ultimately, she had decided on wearing black flats, a mainly white skirt with black floral patterns, and then a black dressy top that wasn't _too_ dressy. The floor of her room was officially carpeted with all of the clothes of her closet from changing dozens of times. What message would she been sending if her skirt was too short or if she wore jeans or if her blouse was too loose? Makeup was just as difficult. Her makeup remover bottle was now dry and her eyelids had turned pink with irritation of changing her lid color repeatedly. Between the gray smoky eye she had on her left eye and the plain beige on her right eye, she decided to mix them. Not to go too plain and to not be too dramatic. Finally, her decision was a lighter lid color with a darker gray in the crease.

Davina had groaned every time her eyes turned to her alarm clock. Why had she put so much effort into this? She didn't even really like Tatsuya _like that_...

On her last trip to stand in front of the mirror, she had sighed in the most possible amount of satisfaction to be drawn from that situation. She looked nice enough and not over the top. She had grabbed the end of her skirt and straightened out the folds then let go. The skirt flowed just on her knee; the length was alright. Her flats had offered a casual touch. Heels would have been too formal and probably too tall for Tatsuya. Her blouse was simple with a flattering cut, not too low or conservative. She was dressed to go to a _nice, friendly_ dinner. Serious and friendly.

Just before she left out of the door of her room, she went to her desk to take Tatsuya's jacket. It was too big to carry in her purse, so she let the garment sit over the span of her forearm as she left the Hardy Barracks towards the subway station.

Jayla and Mira had demanded that she text them regularly for details. Davina hadn't originally agreed, but while nervously sitting and waiting in Shibuya, her frantic hands reached into her bag and glided across the keys of her phone. _Just waiting, he should be here any moment now._

Just as the message sent, a reply came in from Mira: _Remember to RELAX_

Davina inhaled a deep breath, imagining Mira's voice in her head interacting those words. She inhaled a deep breath, shut her eyes, and counted backwards from three.

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

Another inhale of breath. Davina's lids lifted and immediately the calmness she had managed to gather was scattered into nerves when she saw Tatsuya. Clad in a simple shirt and dark trousers, it was interesting to see him in something different than his uniform. Davina gave herself a once-over as she felt his eyes scan her from head to toe. Her clothes were fine. And she supposed that he thought so too by the way he couldn't pry his eyes away from her bare legs.

Davina packed her mobile phone back into her little purse, grasped the edges of the concrete platform as she stood up and smiled. "Hello, Tatsuya."

Tatsuya scratched the back of his neck, obviously as nervous as she was. "Hello, Dabina."

She squeezed the garment on her arm, wondering if it were appropriate to return it to him now. Tatsuya had already noticed her holding it, so without a second thought she held out the jacket for him to take. "Thank you for allowing me to borrow it yesterday. I figured you might need it on Monday morning." Davina immediately remembered Headteacher's snarky gripe to Shin and her when he had caught Shin without his jacket and her wearing it instead.

No Shin, she pined. A hankering sensation pressed in her chest and remorse filled her when she peered at Tatsuya. Poor Tatsuya. For the first time, even with hundreds, maybe thousands of people in her vicinity, she was alone with Tatsuya and her mind was yearning for someone else. It wasn't fair to him that she had agreed to seeing him alone out of pure commiseration. When she was alone with Shin the night before, she hadn't yearned for Tatsuya.

She had to set the record straight now. "Tatsuya... I..."

He gulped at the sudden tender expression on her face. Tatsuya couldn't believe that he had the guts to conjure this get-together. "Yes, Dabina?" He asked politely.

Davina's throat tightened. She couldn't do it. The guilt was overwhelming. "It was nothing important, shall we go?" She responded and forced an artificial smile.

Tatsuya bowed his head, set his hands into his pockets, and gestured towards the sidewalk.

Davina followed. She would go through with this...whatever and perhaps he would get bored of her or she would send out vibes to him that she only wanted to be friends. She inhaled a reassuring breath, which only slightly appeased the monster of guilt within her.

* * *

Davina admittedly found it slightly interesting what she could do to Tatsuya with a simple flip of her long curtain of red hair. He would be talking to her casually and she would tuck her hair behind her ear and run her hand down through her tresses, causing him to, for a moment, lose his train of thought. Her actions weren't out of malice, but surprise how her mother's words to her when she become a teenager were true, "the simplest things, Davina, will drive them _insane_."

"Ah, um, as I was saying, this place right here has the best Chinese I have ever tasted." Tatsuya, grinning out of desperation for confidence, led her inside the busy restaurant. Davina took in the atmosphere as they were seated: beautiful artwork hung on the walls, steam from hot pots of tea sent misty fog to hung under the warm red lighting. For the place that at first glance seemed busy, the tone was relaxed and quaint, especially compared to the Saturday night that was beginning to unwind in Shibuya.

Tatsuya ran his hand through his own head of hair in uncertainty of his hairstyle. Upon her glances at Tatsuya as he walked with her through Shibuya, she had conceived that he had tried extremely hard to clean himself up. His hair was combed through, but unevenly gelled. His shirt excreted a scent of over-sprayed cologne. His shoes, as he walked with her, appeared to be uncomfortable. His socks were even two mismatched. As she attempted to read through the menu with her best applied Japanese, she admitted to herself that deep down she was flattered that someone could go through so much effort just to prepare for her.

Tatsuya scratched his chin as he randomly glanced across the table to Davina, wondering if he should assist her with ordering. He didn't want to insult her Japanese, but it seemed polite to try and help.

His worries were solved when the waiter came and Davina ordered herself a soup without struggle. Tatsuya himself was almost too impressed to hear the waiter turn to him and ask for his input. "Uh, same for me, please."

Davina checked her phone and saw two messages from Jayla and Mira. _Well? What's happening? Is it awkward? Goodness, woman! Tell us!_ Davina quickly typed a quick message, _it's going fine, not really awkward,_ and sent it.

Tatsuya noticed the pressing stares of many in the restaurant. Were they staring at him or Davina? What were they thinking? _What was she doing with him?_ However, Tatsuya thought, if he in their positions, he would be staring too. He had seen men alone with beautiful gaijin women with blonde hair and blue eyes. Sure, Davina was not a blonde-bombshell, but with red hair and green eyes, she was special and his. He smirked.

He used the moment to set his arms on the table and look intently at Davina. When her phone was stashed away again, he opened his mouth, but paused before saying anything, as though checking his certainty of what he was about to ask.

"Pardon if you mind me asking, but how is it that you came to help Yamaguchi's class on their English midterm?" Tatsuya's eyes were diverted away from Davina and his words were murmured so quickly that Davina almost hadn't understood.

She took a sip of her water; she had been wondering when the question was going to pop up. Luckily for Tatsuya she had already formulated an answer. "English is my first language, after all. For faster language acquisition, it helps to have a native speaker."

Tatsuya nodded his head, but Davina could tell by the way he fidgeted impatiently in his seat that he was not satisfied by her answer. He twisted his neck away. He hadn't expected her to be so vague. Would he give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she didn't fully understand his question or believe that she was hiding something?

"And you Tatsuya?"

Tatsuya lifted his head and stared back at Davina with high eyebrows. "Huh? Yes?"

"How did you decide to help 3-D?" Davina asked, her face glowing in the warm lighting. Tatsuya could hardly bare to look at her in the eye.

"A 3-D student, I don't even know his name, came up to me in the hall one day. I thought he was going to beat me up, but he showed me his English textbook and asked me if I knew the answer to a question. Surprised me to no end. My class loves Fujiyama"—Davina smirked at this, _gee, I wonder why?_ She thought to herself—"so I gathered Kazu and Akira to help. We're some of the best speakers in class, but English is hard, yet we decided to try our best."

_Yes, I imagine it is very difficult to learn English with a beautiful woman trying to teach it to you._ "Tell me, what did the student you helped in the hallway look like?"

"Dyed hair, about my size."

Davina ignored the slightly bitter and careless tone in his voice and glanced up at the ceiling before uttering a sure answer. "Matsudaira-kun."

She knew his name? Did she know _all_ of them by name? Tatsuya suddenly felt awkward. Was she just that attentive or...unlikely, but had 3-D made a good impression upon her? No way. About as likely as Kazu getting accepted into Todai, which was now more jinxed due to his recent skips from cram school. Either way, she was apparently...friendly with Sawada. He had had some unpleasant things he could openly mention about 3-D and Sawada, but figured that it would be best to wait and find out if they were on the same wavelength on their feelings towards 3-D.

It was at that moment that Tatsuya decided to glance at the door and watch it open. Davina nearly stood to her feet when she saw the expression of surprise mixed with dread on his face. She twisted behind and saw Kazuo, Akihito, and someone else she didn't know ignore the hostess of the restaurant and march right over to their table.

Even from behind, she could clearly hear Tatsuya's muttered cursing. "Damn it! Haruki? What are they doing with him here?"

Davina resettled herself and fixed her content expression. She smoothed her skirt and took a gulp of water as Kazuo, Akihito, and the stranger rudely pull up idle chairs to sit next to Tatsuya. Tatsuya looked strained, too tight with nervousness to even utter a friendly word to his friends. Kazuo and Akihito sat side by side with Tatsuya meanwhile the stranger sat nearer towards Davina. He gave her a once-over with his eyes and with a slight gesture to Kazuo, Akihito, and Tatsuya, he informed them that he liked what he saw. Davina fought the instinct to leer at him. She felt her phone vibrate in her purse against her chair. She didn't dare reach for it.

"Sorry to be intrusive, Tatsuya, but Haruki demanded that he meet the notorious Davina face to face." Kazuo peered away apprehensively, unable to take in Tatsuya's distressed face.

The stranger grinned at Kazuo then turned his attention back to Davina. Davina met his steady gaze no matter how irritated she felt by his presence. The stranger chuckled and set his arm crossed on the table. "Please pardon my rudeness, my name is Inoue, Haruki." He introduced himself in Japanese, yet held out a hand for Davina to shake.

She looked down at the hand then gingerly held hers out and shook his strongly. "Davina Summons."

Inoue jeered to his friends. Tatsuya had barely moved, but Davina could read that his patience was waning away with every jeer and sneer. "Well, Dabina-chan—

"Ms Summons!" Davina scorned to him in English.

Inoue whooped impatiently for being interrupted. "She demands to be addressed with respect. You two were right—" he gestured to Kazuo and Akihito— "she is uptight." Davina simpered to Inoue and Tatsuya recoiled, internally begging that Davina hadn't understood. He knew his wishing was in vain when he read her expression of pure disdain towards Inoue.

The quaint and comfortable vibe in the restaurant had officially dissolved and Davina hated the lustful glances Inoue made at her. Couldn't he at least try and be subtle? She bent her legs so that maybe her chair could cover her a bit, but Inoue was sitting too close for it to help. His curiosity seemed further aroused by her difficulty.

Her phone vibrated once more. She still didn't answer.

"Haruki, maybe we should go." Akira suggested, but Inoue nearly laughed at him.

"I can be reasonable. I just wanted to see the girl that my friend Tatsuya has been talking about all week." Inoue said in a quieter voice to Davina, not bothering to look back at the nervous Tatsuya. "Maybe have a quick chat with her, then I'll go, I promise."

Davina leaned in, waiting for his first question. Her hands clenched the bottom of her chair while the expression on her face remained steady and serious.

"Now, _Suminsu-san_ , we were discussing this yesterday, all of us, and we were wondering if you truly believed that 3-D would save Fujiyama from being sacked?"

Tatsuya turned to Davina, his heart in his throat. Damn you, Haruki!

"Why you ask?" Davina's hands squeezed the bottom of her chair as the anger building inside of her was sealed behind her face.

Though Akira and Kazu had seen Davina's demeanor in the classroom, even they were beginning to doubt her sincerity judging by her unflinching expression.

Tatsuya fought the urge to yank Haruki back as he leaned towards Davina with that craving grin on his face. Davina herself fought the urge to shove him back but her knuckles cracked under the chair, trying with all her might to repress such malicious desire. Her disgust further grew when she scented alcohol under his breath.

His hot breath brushed against her cheek as he muttered his words. "Rumor on the street is that you were asked to tutor them. These three gave some hardy testimony of your effort, but really, do you honestly believe that _garbage_ is capable of any feat except crime?" Davina slight shuddered and to that Haruki sneered.

Davina reposed herself as Haruki leaned away from her again. Her ability to keep a cool exterior was deteriorating rapidly. Her hands could hardly grasp her chair anymore. Something had to give soon... "Tatsuya, is what he is saying true?"

Tatsuya scouted in his chair towards the table and glanced away with a deep inhale of air, unable to face her. "I have my doubts. None of 3-C believes it is going to happen."

Davina felt her something sink within her. She had trusted his sincerity since day-one when he had introduced himself in struggled English.

Tatsuya saw her hollowing eyes and frantically shook his arm in front. "No! It's not your fault that no one believes in 3-D!" He thought his words would calm her. "Only that nutty-annoying teacher of theirs. What you did was good. You don't have to feel guilty when they fail."

The disappointment was so overwhelming it was a painful pit in her stomach, pleading to be released. Surely, she hadn't been fooled for the past week? This had to be a joke right?

"After the tutoring, you don't have to see Sawada again, right?" Tatsuya pressed on. Haruki licked his lips while Kazu and Akira remained still with caution, waiting for a reaction from Davina.

Davina's hands cracked again on her chair. Shin was bound to come up in the conversation so she was astonished that the mention of his name had sent a surprised shiver through her back. "You...don't want me to see Shin?"

She had called him Shin, not Sawada. Tatsuya knew he had to nip this in the bud now. He had talked to his friends about the walk to Shinjuku. They had all agreed that Sawada needed to be out of the picture entirely, at all costs. Surely, Davina would agree.

Just then, the waiter carrying two large bowls of soup set them in front of their respective customers. Tatsuya grabbed his utensil and started swirling the steamy broth. Davina still hadn't moved, seeing her reflection in the steaming soup.

"I'd...rather you cut ties with Sawada after the tutoring, after all, it was him that asked you, right?" Tatsuya ventured.

Davina's chest quivered, unable to repress the emotion growing inside. She shook her head slightly as though she wasn't hearing right and couldn't comprehend what Tatsuya was saying.

Tatsuya scooped up some of his soup and blew across to cool it down before swallowing. "You're a not familiar with the people here, so I'd rather tell you and not let you associate yourself with the wrong people. You have nothing to gain by being with Sawada, Shin. I can't say he has done anything good for anyone. The only reason Headteacher hasn't expelled him yet is because Sawada is clever. And also because of Yamaguchi's incessant whining. If she wasn't there, all of the 3-D would be gone. There's no reason a lovely girl like yourself should be with garbage like that, 3-D or Sawada."

Davina's focus narrowed on Tatsuya as he slurped his soup. All four pairs of eyes were fixed on her, waiting for her agreement.

3-D fail? They _were_ terrible in the beginning, but they were one hundred percent honest in their will to improve and help a fellow classmate. Now, in her native opinion, they were all probably better than Tatsuya, Akihito, and Kazuo. And Shin never doing anything good? He had been the only one in all of Roppongi to save her that one significant night. He had bought her ramen and tea at his expense, he walked her home and gave her his jacket. Her repayment to him was to help his friend, Noda. And they, her, Yamaguchi, and all of 3-D were working hard every day after school to save _their_ teacher from being sacked.

Davina gazed at Tatsuya, trying with the last of her will to sense if he or his friends exhibited any gratefulness for their effort. She saw their fronts of superiority. She sighed deeply; she had dearly hoped that she could find something sincere in any of the four of them. There was nothing sincere about them. She peered down back at her full bowl of soup and met her reflection again.

Her sore hands finally let go of her chair and reached into her purse. She pulled out her wallet, dropped a ¥1,000 note and a ¥500 coin in front of her bowl. Without saying a word, she stood from her chair, twisted back and almost ran out the door. Tatsuya nearly choked on his soup and stumbled out of his chair, "ma-matte!" but Davina was long gone before he could follow her.

Davina ambled down the busy street, so sick with bent-up anger and disappointment that she barely saw and cared where she was speeding off. Her phone vibrated viciously in her purse, but she ignored it.

She had been fooled. Fooled. Fooled. Fooled! But she wasn't the fool, Tatsuya was the fool. The fact that he had actually been convinced that he was doing her a favor made him the fool. 3-D was not garbage. Yamaguchi-sensei was not garbage. Shin was not garbage.

She leaned against an infrastructure and caught her breath, her heart pounded furiously in her ears. She didn't tell how far she had gone, but she didn't care. She reached in her purse for her phone and searched through her contacts. She selected Shin's number and hit send on her phone.

Her hand shook as she gulped and held the receiver to her ear, her throat tight and dry. "Ah, hello Shin. Hachiko. Onegaishimasu."


	10. Hachiko, Onegaishimasu

After Davina hung up the phone with Shin, she texted Mira and Jayla. Moments after her message sent, her phone vibrated in her purse, but she didn't bother to check. They would be asking for information to understand what happened, but Davina wasn't sure if she could comprehend it herself.

The sun was almost set behind her as she sat in her previous spot near Hachiko.

What was said and done seemed so blurry to her now that the only proof of her intense anger were her sore fingers and knuckles from cracking under her chair. Davina flexed her hands with difficulty, unable to believe how hard she had held on to her seat. She bit her nails nervously and constantly peeked over her shoulder in case Tatsuya or any of his friends saw her or perhaps she could finally spot Shin before he had a chance to take her by surprise.

Over the phone, Shin hadn't sounded annoyed or bothered. Originally, Davina had planned to come off as more relaxed in her voice, but when he answered with "doushita?" the words spewed out short, quick and less intelligent than she had hoped. "Hachiko. Onegaishimasu." Before she could add to or redeem her statement, Shin had already replied, "wakatta." _Understood._

Her throat had constricted at that moment and Davina could only end the call, unable to utter a single word. Waiting by Hachiko, she simply held her phone in her hand, worried about missing a call from Shin, but not willing to check the growing number of messages from her friends. Whenever her screen darkened, she would activate the menu by pressing a button to watch the time. Minutes dragged on for what seemed forever with Davina trying to calculate how long it would take for Shin to arrive.

She wasn't even sure what she was planning to tell him when he arrived. She'd rather not talk about it, but Davina couldn't predict if Shin were willing to leave it at that. Maybe she should cancel...before he got far away from home... The cursor on her phone rested on Shin's number, waiting for her to press 'send.' She sighed with hesitance then deactivated the menu. She had plenty of reasons to cancel, but only one not to cancel: she wanted to see Shin.

Her fingers continued to flex, but the tightness in her hands refused to relax. Davina resorted to people watching and noticed a small group of businessmen trying to be inconspicuous, but making obvious gawks at her and little murmurs to each other. By instinct her palm frantically smoothed over her hair and through her fringe. She turned her back to face away from the businessmen, hoping they would eventually move on. Sighing to calm the restlessness building within her, she checked the time on her phone once more, still not reading the growing number of messages from Jayla and Mira. Trying to zone out the noise of the dense crowds of people surrounding the street, Tatsuya's and the voices of his friends echoed in her memory.

_"Do you honestly believe that garbage is capable of any feat except crime?"_

" _I have my doubts."_

" _After the tutoring, you don't have to see Sawada again, right?_

_"I'd...rather you cut ties with Sawada after the tutoring."_

_"There's no reason a lovely girl like yourself should be with garbage like that, 3-D or Sawada. "_

Davina shuddered and nearly jumped out of her skin when someone's hands grasped hers. A familiar hand with a thumb ring—Shin. Remembering all the times Shin's hands had simply brushed along hers, she couldn't believe his hands were fully clasped around hers. His grip was firm yet Davina felt the strain lessen within the joints of her hands. She inhaled deeply, only to realize she had been previously holding her breath. Suddenly the harsh sounds of Shibuya roared around her and Davina remembered where she was.

Shin merely sat there next to her, carefully caressing her hands. When he first saw Davina, her exterior seemed mostly stoic, a little cold, but her hands were shaking. He was amazed she hadn't noticed him slip in next to her, but when had she ever noticed his entrances before? She was startled, but instantly calmed when he held her hand.

He peered down at her, waiting for her to lift her head. Davina gulped and slowly turned to face him. Shin's poker face was showing, but in his eyes he exhibited concern. Meanwhile Davina's expression was delicate and chary. Nothing needed to be said between them as Davina had feared. She suddenly realized that it was the first time she had seen him clad without a school uniform. She gulped again and slowly lifted her hands from his grip. Her fingers lightly glided around his waist and to his back and pulled Shin closer so she could rest her head on his chest. The fabric of his gray sweater felt soft on her cheek as she shut her eyes.

Slight recognition of the risk Davina was taking in the vulnerable state she was in caused her to stiffen and reopen her eyes, unsure if Shin were to reject her.

Shin felt her slight withdrawal. He peaked down and saw her hunched up with uncertainty. He figured it to be a fear of rejection. He heard Davina give a sharp intake of breath as his arms pulled her further into his embrace. After a moment, she relaxed and was simply held by him. Even with the rush of urban life around them, the loudest thing she heard was her own soft breathing against Shin's chest.

* * *

When Shin received her phone call, he was with Kuma, Minami, Noda, and Uchi at the pool hall. They had just broke into their second round when Shin's mobile phone rang. The boys had watched Shin's frozen expression, trying to predict who was on the other side. Their guesses were confirmed when Shin set his pool stick down and uttered, "Something happened. I'll see you later."

"Something bad?" Minami blurted before Shin climbed down the stairs.

"Not sure yet." Shin quickly responded to reassure his friends who were preparing to follow him. They watched Shin slide down the stairs and disappear out of the hall.

"Too bad about the game." Noda muttered, managing to get a head-jerk from his surrounding friends in agreement.

"Do you think we should go after him? Just in case." Kuma asked, resting his chin on the tip of his pool stick.

Uchi stretched before positioning his next shot. "It will be just them two. I don't think any of us can really help in _that_ sort." Each of the boys offered a groan as their agreement.

Silence fell over the table as the boys thought to themselves, coming up to their own conclusions as to why Davina had called him, and wishing it to go well for Shin.

* * *

Shin didn't go to Shibuya expecting any answers and it would have been insensitive of him to ask. He hadn't expected her to hug him though.

Her hands had stopped shaking and the rest of her appeared calmer. After Davina had embraced him, Shin noticed prying eyes from strangers, seeking glances at them interestedly. Davina peered up above Shin's arms and saw his attention occasional wonder and realized they were receiving some inappropriate stares from strangers. She abruptly pulled away from Shin's arms, pretending to be fixing her fringe to hid her blushing. "I'm...sorry, I didn't rea...I'm sorry." The words spewed out so fast she wasn't sure if he heard her clearly.

Fretful, Davina unzipped her purse and checked her phone; more messages from Jayla and Mira, too many now to check.

Shin rebalanced, having been partially distorted when Davina shoved back, and reached for her hand. Davina stopped with her phone, spotting Shin's serious face from the corner of her vision. His grip squeezed stronger than before. "Your hands were trembling," Shin murmured.

Davina finally turned to face him, leaning in to hear him speak. "What was that?"

It was the first time that night that Shin got a chance to get a good look at Davina. She was dressed rather nicely and her clothes weren't rustled in any sort. Her makeup around the eyes was slightly smudged, but no puffiness, redness, or tear-stained cheeks. No cuts, scraps, or any tenderness from what he could see on her arms and legs. Tsuchida hadn't laid a hand on her. Still, her movements were restless, more so than usual. That hug and that shove back were out of desperation; the girl had been through some serious stress.

"Shin?"

Shin blinked. Davina had scooted closer with a confused expression. When his eyes met hers, the apples of her cheeks turned to a soft pink. He remained silent and simply gazed at her, trying to think of what to do next.

Davina felt gutted by butterflies in her stomach, but her limbs didn't move her away from his gaze. His scent made her gulp and her eyes were fixed on his lips. She couldn't help but flinch when his head had slightly tilted toward hers. The awkwardness hit them both and Shin sighed as he flipped his hair from his brow. Davina slowly leaned away finally, piecing together what had happened since he arrived. She felt her hand squeezed and glanced up to see Shin stand up.

"Shall we go? Do you need to go home?"

Davina hesitated. Before she could reply, her stomach growled furiously, reminding her she hadn't eaten all day in anticipation. "Avoir un creux." She muttered to herself.

"Eh?" Shin groaned. It wasn't until Davina's arm wrapped over her stomach that Shin understood. "I know of a place." He lifted her hand to gesture for her to stand as well. Davina adjusted her bag strap and tossed her phone into her purse. It vibrated again to cue another received message in her inbox, probably from Mira and or Jayla.

* * *

The further away they got from Shibuya, the more color seeped back into Davina's complexion, Shin noted. After spending most of their trip in a daze, Davina was able to recognize with relief the same old train stop from whenever Shin walked her to Shirokin. She was gracious to leave the packed craziness of downtown Tokyo. The surrounding area of Shirokin was still plenty busy with open shops and pedestrians, but far less hectic. Off one of the streets that lead to Shirokin, Shin stopped suddenly in front of a ramen-ya and glanced through the windows. Davina couldn't help but grin at the thought that in an effort to calm her down, he had taken her to another ramen-ya, like the one on the night they had first met.

"Is ramen your favorite?" Davina asked in jest.

"One of my favorites, but since we're in the area, Kuma's family wouldn't let us eat anywhere else."

Kuma's family? "Huh? Kuma—?" Before Davina could finish her question, Shin had already stepped under the white banner with red lettering. Davina pulled the banner aside and stepped into the little restaurant. A large woman wearing a chef's outfit approached Shin in delight.

"Hungry Shin? Are the rest of the boys behind you? Tell my idiot son to come help me in the kitchen!"

To that comment, Shin smiled. She waved him towards the bar, but before she could turn away, Shin replied. "Actually, it will just be two, me and a friend." The woman and Shin turned their attentions to the entrance and saw Davina stepping through the banner. She immediately paused due to the addled expression of the woman but when Davina had a good look at her, it clicked in her head: that was Kuma's mother. Davina grinned and approached Shin while Kuma's mother's eyes followed with intrigue, her delight muted. After another second of eying the girl from head to toe then back at Shin, Kuma's mother cheerily sighed. "Sah, two bowls of ramen, ne?"

"Onegaishimasu." Davina slightly bowed her head. Kuma's mother gave another quick exhale of breath, "hai, dozo, dozo!" swaying an arm towards the bar, then rushed to the kitchen.

"She could only be Kuma's mother..." Davina uttered to herself, not expecting Shin to hear, but he managed to smirk.

The restaurant was sparse; a few bachelors were sitting off to the side near the wall. Shin heard them whisper to each other about the "red-headed girl," but Davina was too busy pouring him a cup of tea to pay attention. After she shoved the steaming cup in front of him, Shin filled her empty cup.

Like the first night she had met Shin, the tea warmed her insides and she instantly felt better. Shin's chin rested on his interlaced fingers, listening to her slurping her tea. Again, he was satisfied that the shivers in her hands and the paleness on her face were gone. She took his cup back and refilled it.

"See, I'm learning. I don't ever pour for myself anymore." Davina said, ignoring disorientation of the former situation. Shin was plenty ready to ask her what happened. However, he decided to wait for her to relax for a while before.

Over the bar, Kuma's mother and father were whispering animatedly to each other while preparing the food.

"Friend, eh?"

"I've never seen hair like that before, you think it's fake?"

"She seems lovely enough, though seeing him alone with her is a little strange. I never knew him to be interested."

"You go deliver the bowls."

"Me? I don't know..."

Shin fought the urge to acknowledge their statements, but was able to give a sincere 'thank you' as Kuma's father placed two beautiful glass bowls of ramen in front of the two teenagers.

"Itadakimasu." Davina confidently broke apart her chopsticks and dipped them into the steaming bowl of ramen.

"Dozo." Kuma's father quickly shied away, catching glassy eyes with Shin before he returned to the kitchen.

"You can tell they're Kuma's parents. Especially his mother." Davina said in between chews. Davina imagined that she appeared fine, but in reality she was annoyed with herself that she apparently needed to make small talk when there were other pressing matters. She still could barely face Shin after she had embarrassed herself and hugged him. Her ability to speak in Japanese was still limited to mostly small talk and she wouldn't bring up her night with Tatsuya unless Shin asked her. Shin didn't seem curious, otherwise he probably would have asked her. Jayla and Mira desperately wanted to know, judging by the now innumerable amount of messages on her phone.

She shyly glanced at Shin as he ate his ramen in silence. Even if he did ask, what would she tell him? _Um, yeah, they called you, Yankumi and all of 3-D trash..._

"Davina?"

She clenched her chopsticks tightly. "Huh? Oh..."

She squeezed her hand into a fist to stop from shaking. Shin set his chopsticks on his bowl top and took his cup as he leaned back in his chair. "Something wrong?"

Davina gulped, but pretended to be occupied with her ramen. "Betsu ni...nothing."

 _Certainly not true, judging by the way her hands quivered._ Shin sipped his tea. "You called me for a reason."

Davina briefly froze. After sighing, she paired her chopsticks, placed them on her bowl, and then turned to face Shin's serious concern. Her worries of repeating Tatsuya's words were overwhelming; she sighed again to remain collected. "Really, now I look back and it's not such a big deal anymore."

Loud running steps caused them both to twist around and before Shin could reply or protest, Kuma, Minami, Uchi, and Noda filled the gap at the door. Each of them cursed as they filed through under the banner. It was the first time she had seen them in regular clothes, instead of their uniforms.

The bachelors peered over their shoulders cautiously, stiffening their previously casual positions. Minami flicked his finger at Shin. "Nah, Shin, you should have _told_ us you were coming here!"

Uchi sat on Shin's other side, smoothing his hair. "Believe it or not, Kuma's parents gave us the call."

"Didn't believe it at first." Noda added, filling up another seat on the bar. "Came here to see for ourselves."

"Parents said you were on a date. Shocked us for a moment, figured you could ditch us for a girl, but we realized you were with Davina. _Aka-chan_ , they had called her."

The boys laughed to themselves. "Ne, you two picked the least social area to sit. A table would suit us all better."

"We chose this spot because we weren't expecting extra company." Shin murmured to himself.

Davina held her tea cup to her lips and felt the steam on the bridge of her nose and cheeks. Shin wasn't thrilled to see them, but Davina wouldn't let herself fret yet. She had hung out with these boys before; they have never done anything to make her uncomfortable.

Uchi nudged Shin as the other boys leaned in to listen. "Hey, did she tell you what happened?

"She's sitting right there..." Shin replied, openly annoyed.

"But did she tell you?" Noda spat, lowering his voice even further.

"Not before you lot came." Shin responded. They all glanced away, befuddled.

"Ne, Dabina-chan," Minami pressed himself on the bar to see Davina next to Shin.

Davina's eyes widened a bit and she tilted slightly to see the rest of the rest of the boys by Shin.

"Did ya ditch the wise-asses of 3-C to hang out with the better crowd?" Minami puffed his cheeks in jesting pride.

Davina straightened and simpered at his remark. "It would seem so, huh?" She turned away again, pretending to be focused on her ramen. The boys didn't notice her withdrawal, except Shin. Before he could say anything, Kuma's father walked by.

"Ah, the rest of you came! So that'll be four more bowls of ramen then." He adjusted his falling hat from his brows. "Teruo, come help me in the kitchen."

"Shut up..." Kuma muttered viciously. "I'm with my friends and we want to be left alone."

Davina's jaw slightly dropped. Kuma actually said that to his _father_? Kuma's father lips thinned and his ears turned red.

"Speak for yourself, I'm starving!" Minami slapped Kuma's back, lightening up the situation.

"Four bowls! Onegaishimasu!" Uchi grinned, holding up an arm, waving four fingers. "Ah, wait, Kuma, should we order another four bowls for you?"

"Shut up!" Kuma yanked Uchi back into a choke hold, however Uchi continued to laugh along with his other friends. The bachelors from the other table slowly scrambled up, ready to flee if the situation worsened.

"Teruo! Stop it, I say!" Kuma's father exclaimed.

Kuma's cheeks blew up in size, but he reluctantly let go of his blond friend. Uchi fixed the collar of his shirt, still smirking at Kuma. Kuma's father cursed to himself with a half-amused expression as he headed back into the kitchen, "I swear, he's not mine."

Davina couldn't comprehend it. Kuma's father _didn't_ put him six feet under? Sure, he seemed angry, but that was worst of it. Maybe he didn't want to yell at Kuma in front of his friends... If he were her father...she doubted that he would mind yelling at her and allowing people to believe that he condoned that sort of behavior from his daughter.

"Gah, my father, such an old man. Why can't he just leave me alone?" Kuma groaned.

The bar areas quietened to where the only noise came from bubbling from the kitchen. With her father's face plastered in her mind, Davina slowly spoke up. "Your father isn't bad. My father...never allowed me talk to him like that. I really don't understand." The bubbling and boiling from the kitchen grew louder, the tension building in their corner. Shin's thumb glided down his bottom lip; she had never mentioned her parents before.

Kuma, whose cheeks were still puffed, balled his hands into fists in his lap. His lips thinned and his voice rose in volume as he blurted out. "What was that? Don't you talk about things you don't understand—

"Kuma!" Shin bellowed harshly, bringing Kuma to a halt. The two boys met eyes for a moment but then Kuma retracted, sitting his bottom into his seat.

Davina's blood boiled inside, and feeling the five pressing stares next to her, she severely bit her lip. She didn't want to leave just yet. She wanted to say something, anything. _Kuma, my anger was not directed at you. Please don't believe that I think you're trash. Don't any of you believe that! Please don't misunderstand..._ The air became too thick to breathe. Four guys and a girl is a crowd, five guys and a girl is a crowd. Davina reached into her purse, and pulled out a ¥1,000 note. She dropped the note next to her half unfinished bowl of ramen, forcing herself not to look at Shin.

 _Don't worry, after Monday, you won't have to deal with me again_ , Davina strode and swept the banner with a hard flick of her arm too fast for her to decipher the thought into Japanese.

After digesting the initial shock of Davina rushing out, Shin, without uttering a word to his friends, stood from his chair and bolted from the restaurant. When Shin disappeared from their sights, the boys turned back to the deep, enveloped in silence for a few moments.

"Ne...what the hell was that?" Uchi pondered, keying for his friends' input.

"Kuma probably hit a nerve." Noda answered, sighing while setting his chain on his palm.

"She hit my nerve!" Kuma barked. "Bringing up her father, like she can relate!"

"Calm down, Kuma," Minami patted Kuma's shoulder. "Maybe we shouldn't have come, Shin seemed like he had a decent handle on the situation."

The boys nodded their heads.

"We'll wait for Monday to find out what happened then." Noda added. "Hopefully, we didn't screw it up for Shin."

* * *

Davina fumbled with her phone while taking fast, and unstable steps towards the station, towards _home!_ Jayla and Mira could understand her and give her a listen. They knew what it was like to be the odd one. They wouldn't judge—

She groaned harshly as she was halted by a severe tug on her arm. She knew it was Shin, even before he circled around to face her. Davina heard Mira's voice from the speaker 'Hello? Davina?' before she pushed the 'end' button.

Davina didn't bother to guess what Shin was going to say. She considered just ignoring him and leaving, but she realized his hand still gripped her arm.

Her forehead just inches from his chest and poker face, he uttered simply "doushita?"

She bit her lip It wasn't worth upsetting Shin or being misunderstood because her Japanese wasn't good enough. "Nothing." Davina nudged her arm for him to release but his grip remained tight.

"You walked out. For what reason?" Shin provoked.

Davina's throat tightened. Lucky guess. Still feeling his grip, she answered, "I heard some things that I didn't want to hear, alright?"

Her monotone voice was forced, Shin noted. The way she left the restaurant when Kuma started getting agitated was for desperation and self-protection. In Shibuya before, he had concluded Tsuchida hadn't physically harmed her.

"What did Tsuchida say?" He asked slowly for her sake. His grip never loosened.

"Not just him. Akihito, Kazuo, and...Haruki." Memory of his jeers made her twitch.

Inoue, Haruki? Did those three just show up or had Tsuchida planned for them to arrive? "Was it planned?"

Davina recalled the expression of pure surprise on his face when they arrived at their table and his building agitation afterward. She didn't doubt he was an innocent bystander in his friend's scheming, but he was guilt by association when he said those words to her... "Not planned. Definitely not."

Shin exhaled; he really didn't need to ask what they had said. The fact that Tsuchida's friends showed up already explained why Davina left soon after his friends came to the restaurant. His hand loosened on her arm and trailed down to her hand, her fingers stopped quivering. "Why did you walk out?"

Davina stared at her hand in his. "They said, 3-D won't save Noda's teacher from being fired. Tatsuya said...cut ties with Sawada."

She didn't dare see his expression. At first she wanted to wait for a reply, but words spewed from her mouth like vomit. "I'm so sorry, Shin—"

"Why be sorry?" Shin's deep timbre voice responded, interrupting her apology. "You didn't listen to him, right? You called me and you're here with me, right? Why feel guilty?"

An internal weight was lifted within her and the fretting sensation wishing for her to flee had evaporated. Davina's eyes slowly moved from her hand in his to his set. Shin had come after her and Tatsuya hadn't. Her stomach ached with nerves and the roof her mouth grew dry. The nerves in her stomach clenched when she realized that she could feel his breath against her cheek. Shin whisked away hair from his brow and squeezed Davina's hand. He titled his head toward hers and Davina shut her eyes to wait, the butterflies fluttering painfully in her stomach.

A generic ringtone rang, abruptly bringing them both back to reality. Shin sighed as he twisted back to answer the phone in his jacket. Davina opened her eyes and fixed her fringe, slightly blushing.

"Uchi?" Shin had his back towards Davina with his head slightly ducked. "We're not far. We're fine. No, I don't think so. No, I don't think she would want—

 _She?_ Davina suddenly came forward and grasped his elbow. "Hold it. Wait."

"One second." Shin slowly turn around and faced Davina with his cell phone pressed to his ear.

Davina inhaled a deep breath and slowly allowed her words out. "If they don't mind..." She could hear Uchi's subtle murmurs of confusion from Shin's speaker. She gripped the strap of her bag tightly and slightly squeezed Shin's arm as if to give her reassurance. "I'd like to go back."

Her voice was just above a whisper, but Shin heard her loud and clear. He blinked and ducked his head to answer Uchi's repeated shouts for a response, but Davina saw his lips barely curve before his hair fell over his face. She let go of his arm and stared at the pavement while she heard him mumble fast words to Uchi.

Shin ended the call then flipped his hair away again before shoving his hands into his pockets. Before he said anything, Davina turned around on her own accord. Surprised by her boldness, Shin grinned at her back before following her.

Davina brisked too quickly for her nerves to gather the depth of the situation. She swept the banner as she stepped through, hearing her shoes clap against the floor. Uchi was still holding his mobile when she approached the bar. They each slowly turned back to see her before she retook her seat. She grabbed her chopsticks and had a full bite of still-warm ramen. She still felt their intrigued stares at her side, but she ignored them.

Shin finally moseyed into the room, visibly taking his sweet time. Davina heard Shin's chair scrap back as he pulled it and she knew he was there. He too grabbed his chopsticks and continued eating his ramen as though nothing had happened.

The bachelors at the other table were cocking their eyebrows at the scene, unsure what to think. Minami was the first to move, leaning back in his chair, to gesture to Kuma. He nudged Kuma in the shoulder until Kuma let out an annoyed yelp, "Fine!"

Shin and Davina stopped eating, mid-slurp.

"Dabina-chan, gomen." Kuma gave a slight, forced bow of his head.

Davina swallowed her bite of ramen and smiled at Kuma. "Don't worry about it."

Kuma's face become less red and other boys whooped. Kuma rubbed his stomach and drummed on the bar. "Old lady, old man! Where's our ramen?"

"Na, Kuma, will there be any left for us?" Uchi remarked, snidely.

" _Nani?_ What was meant by that asshole?" Kuma flared the whites of his eyes at Uchi.

"Big-guy," Minami put his arms around Kuma. "We ordered our own ramen."

Kuma's mother glared at him through the steam of the kitchen. With a loud _clang_ she set the bowls on the counter, but after doing so, she gave a quick slap on the side of Kuma's head. "Agh, who does he take after?" She twitched her neck, then smiled at the boys, "Hai, dozo!"

Minami, Uchi, and Kuma inhaled the steam of their food gleefully, while Noda left his spot to pull an idle chair from an empty table to sit between Shin and Davina. From his jacket, he revealed his leaf-green English book. As his flipped the pages, Davina was at awe at the growing wear, tear, and dog-eared pages.

"Just a quick question...which page was it...?" Noda mumbled to himself as he searched through his book.

The other boys groaned at the sight of Noda's book. Uchi stretched his arms behind his head, "I swear, after that exam, I'm going to _burn_ that book."

"Monday is the final tutoring day." Noda responded into his book.

"Is Dabina-chan fine with seeing Tsuchida for tutoring on Monday?" Minami asked, chewing his food while leaning to see Davina's response.

"If Dabina-chan wishes, we can make sure Tsuchida and his friends know they aren't welcome?" Uchi chimed in, cracking his knuckles in a fist.

Davina blinked then sipped her tea, allowing herself time to consider. Shin peered slightly to his right to see her reaction to Minami's question. Her hands remained still, no quivering, he noted.

Just an hour ago, maybe Davina could have gotten agitated at such a question and considerations of the possibility of seeing Tatsuya again. However, even Davina was surprised at how the idea of seeing Tatsuya again wasn't nerve-racking in the least. The concerning stares from the five boys she had known only for a short time had killed any and all intimidation. She set her teacup down, unable to cover up her smile.

"Monday tutoring will go on as usual." She declared then turned to Noda and the section he pointed out in the book.

Shin looked to his right and saw Davina and Noda engrossed with an English question. Shin then looked to his left and saw Uchi, Minami, and Kuma chat casually while devouring their ramen. Shin returned his attention to his bowl. For the rest of their time spent to the ramen-ya, Shin remained introverted, too satisfied to say a word.

* * *

Davina couldn't remember for certain how the situation came about.

" _I'm taking Davina home."_

" _Ohhh, Shin, where does Dabina-chan live?"_

" _I wanna see!"_

" _Ambassador's estate..."_

" _Fancy businessmen digs..."_

" _I WANNA SEE!"_

Shin hadn't told them it was an army base. He never really gave the boys permission to tag along, but Davina didn't have any problem with them, and he didn't bother to stop them. All the way to Minato-ku, the boys were excitedly making their guesses.

"Private movie theater? You think Dabina-chan will let us watch the new releases?

"Free or not, they would be in English without Japanese subtitles."

"Hey, do you think she'll let us take our dates to the private movie theater?"

"Sah! I bet we could get girls really easy if we told them we had a private movie theater."

Davina shook her head to herself while she listened to their conversation as they walked towards Roppongi. Private movie theater? Where did they hear such things? As they strolled through the city, the boys walked on in front even though they weren't sure of where they were going, while Shin and Davina strayed on behind.

"Sure is far..." Kuma whined.

Noda stopped to wait for Davina and Shin. "Neh, Dabina-chan, wouldn't the train-stop in Roppongi be faster?"

"Also, wouldn't the main street be quicker? These off-streets are boring anyway." Uchi chimed in.

Davina bit her lip and slowly turned to see Shin. Shin seemed unfazed, his poker face going strong. So, Shin hadn't told them about that night...

Noda, Uchi, Minami, and Kuma were still waiting for an answer, but Shin continued to walk, not answering and not giving any evidence of Davina's terrible association with Roppongi. Davina awkwardly followed behind Shin, avoiding the puzzled looks on the boys' faces. Eventually, the boys continued on, knowing their questions were simple and the reasons they weren't receiving answers weren't so simple.

* * *

The boys gazed up through the gates at the large 1950's décor white building. They read the sigh, "haadi barakusu."

" _Iiyo na,_ Dabina-chan." They mused to her while Davina searched her bag for her military ID.

"Does this mean that Dabina-chan's parents are in business?" Noda pried his eyes away from the view to ask Shin.

Shin shook his head. "Nope, the military."

" _Military?_ " Kuma pondered, matching the same interested face of his friends. Davina is a military-child? They finally spotted the glares they were receiving from the white-gloved guards. They all watched as Davina handed her card to the military officer. He quickly returned it and politely said, "you're free to enter Ms. Summons."

At first glance, Davina a military-brat? Her? They all had seen military-personnel in movies. Tough, stern, fierce. Davina, the ballerina who had danced for their class just a few days prior was not quickly identified with such insensitive characteristics.

After a short pause when Davina replaced her ID into her bag, judging by the silence, it was apparent that it was time to say goodnight.

"Will I see you Monday?" Davina asked Shin a little too soft because she was slightly embarrassed, gripping the handle of her purse tightly. She tilted her neck and pretended to be fixing her fringe so that the lighting above wouldn't show her blushing.

"Most likely. Even if I miss school, I'll come get ya." Shin stepped closer, but he peeked over his shoulder at Uchi, Noda, Kuma, and Minami. _Oh,_ they all thought. Maybe they should leave them two alone...?

"Say, Dabina-chan, show us around sometime, ok?" Minami began, giving a slight wave of his hand, paving the way for the others.

"See you Monday." Uchi and Kuma added.

Noda held up his book. "Thank you for answering my question. See you Monday."

The boys then made a swift exit down the hill, softly mentioning about waiting for Shin at the intersection.

Grasping one of the bars for balance support, Davina watched the boys leave in order to avoid, if only temporarily, the impending goodnight to Shin. Her stomach had whirled when he hadn't left with the rest of them and now the butterflies were circling her torso. Why was he staying...? But of course, she didn't want him to leave! Oh, why was she so nervous? Why was she grasping the bar so tightly? Was she expecting something...?

She felt a soft tug on her hand and turned to see Shin, standing against the light, loosely holding her hand. His thumb gently brushed over her fingers before he released her hand entirely. His face was in darkness as he pulled Davina closer to him by her waist. Her cheek pressed against his chest; she could smell his lovely scent within the fibers of his sweater. Her arms snaked under his and up his back to pull him closer. His finger trips were tangled in the ends of her hair and his chin pressed along her temple.

"You never did answer my question: why feel sorry?" Shin inquired softly.

Davina smiled into his sweater. Was he referring to when she profusely apologized for hugging him in public and when he explained how she had already defied Tatsuya's wishes? "What if I'm not sorry anymore? Do I still have to answer?"

She could feel Shin's smile against her temple. "No, not really." He murmured.

Davina wasn't sure how long he held her there, but after what seemed like a relatively short amount of time, Shin's grip loosened and they parted. To give her hands something to do, Davina held the strap of her bag firmly. "See you Monday. Oyasuminasai."

Shin reset his hands into his pockets. "Oyasuminasai."

As Davina spun on her heel, she heard a faint whisper, "O-Aka-chan." She halted with a stomp, her mouth slightly open, but when she finally turned around to confirm it, Shin was already walking away. Davina shook her head and rolled her eyes. She watched him until he was fairly away before she entered the military base with a skip in her step.

Shin couldn't help but notice the glaring suspicion from the guards as he left the gates. He also couldn't deny the inevitable bombardment of questions from his friends when he reached the intersection. Kuma, Uchi, Noda, and Minami were sitting on the curb, chatting when he found them.

"Ikuzo." He uttered to them, which led to the abrupt end of whatever their previous conversation was and began the thousand questions Shin had to endure for the rest of the night.

"I sure hope you made a smart move—you two were up there alone for quite a _while_." Uchi mused, gazing at the sky with a sigh.

"Nothing happened. Stop asking." Shin muttered, knowing he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"So you say, Shin. We've been to enough parties with you to know you're a heart-breaker." Minami chimed in.

Where do they get such ideas? Shin blinked to himself and not answering, effectively ignoring that comment.

"Military parents, huh?" Kuma thought out loud. "Do you think that explains...her comments earlier?"

Ah, yes, it all suddenly made sense. If her father was a militant, then it could provide backing for her not being able to understand being disrespectful to parents. If his father had military training, Kuma thought...he admitted that he probably wouldn't mess with him either.

"Yo, Shin? Are you going to tell us why we avoided Roppongi station and the main streets?" Noda pointed out again, successful in putting the rest of their questions to a standstill. All of them were curious about that.

Shin shrugged. "The main streets are busy. It's a matter of safety." He hadn't lied or misled them, however they were quick to be unsatisfied.

"You worry like an elderly man, Shin." Minami chided. "Hey," he nudged Noda. "Do you all think she'll let us bring our dates to their private theater?"

The boys spent the rest of the way home indulging in their plans to invite girls to a private showing of a movie not yet released in Japan—it was an American base right? They would surely get movies before the rest of Japan.

Shin gladly excused himself out of the conversation. He doubted there was a private theater, but didn't want to be the 'heart-breaker' who informed them all otherwise. He hadn't expected such an eventful night—he was always saying that whenever it concerned Davina. Shin had before figured it was him who had weaved his way into her life, yet he realized that it was reverse. A telephone call from Davina had deranged a night with his friends where they were just supposed to play pool. He also hadn't expected his friends to personally ask the crucial questions about his association with Davina. Even since reuniting, he hadn't figured those questions would ever have a chance to come up.

Smart move? Technically, it had first been her move. Though...Shin still remembered the soft texture of her hair and the weight of her head on his chest. He also vividly remembered how her hands shook until his soothed hers. Shin admittedly didn't have all the answers of what exactly occurred, however Davina had been severely upset. Monday tutoring would continue as usual and he'd make sure of that.

**Author's Note:**

> A dear friend highly recommended that I give Ao3 a go, so here I am...trying it out and enjoying my stay so far. Be sure to tell me what you thought of the first chapter. Cheers!


End file.
